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PRESENTED Dy 
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from the 
Library of her Father 
Nathan Clifford Ricker 

Head of the Department of 
Architecture, 18735-1911 



















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The person charging this material is re- 
sponsible for its return on or before the 
Latest Date stamped below. 


Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books 
are reasons for disciplinary action and may 
result in dismissal from the University. 


University of Illinois Library 





L161—0O-1096 














A MANUAL OF 


DECORATIVE COMPOSITION 








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of 


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A MANUAL OF 


DECORATIVE COMPOSITION 


FOR DESIGNERS, DECORATORS, 
meet el S, AND, (INDUSTRIAL ARTISTS 


BY 
HENRI MAYEUX 


ARCHITECT TO THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT, AND PROFESSOR OF DECORATIVE ART 
IN THE MUNICIPAL SCHOOLS OF PARIS 


TRANSLATED BY 
J. GONINO 


ILLUSTRATED BY NEARLY THREE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS 


NEW YORK 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
1888 


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Authorized Edition. 





PREFACE. 


—~»>— 


THE important questions raised by a subject so vast as 
that implied under the title of Decorative Composition, 
would require a volume of far greater bulk as well as a 
considerable number of coloured plates. 

Our scope is more modest and purely practical ; we 
have only aimed at preparing a manual which should 
serve as a guide to industrial artists, designers, sculptors, 
and decorators, including young architects, in which they 
will find, summied up as clearly as possible, knowledge 
which only comes of experience, and which would have 
cost them long and tedious research to obtain. Hence 
the charm of style which attaches to a work esthetically 
and exhaustively treated must not be looked for here, 
and, for obyious reasons, neither should highly finished 
drawings. 

On the other hand, we have been careful to make 
the book as complete as the narrow limits imposed upon 
us would permit, and have spared neither time nor 
trouble in seeking information from reliable sources and 


vi PREFACE. 


acknowledged authorities. We owe a debt of gratitude 
to many of our predecessors for the help afforded us in 
their books. In conclusion we ask for the indulgence 
of the reader ; for although our labour has been one of 
love, we are conscious of our shortcomings, of errors of 
omission and commission difficult to avoid in a volume 
which, whilst aiming at a completeness of its own, is but 
a stepping-stone to a summary of a larger work. 


GO Nile B Ne FS. 





PAGE 
PREFACE . : , : ; : ; ° : . Vv 
INTRODUCTION. 

I. Decorative Art Composition . : : ; ‘ I 
II. Representation by Means of Drawing. i : 5 
PART 1—THEORY. 

CHAPTER I. 

FORM . ; 3 : : : , : : e45t 

I. Solids. : : ; . ; 5 ; a wale 

II. Planes . ; 4 : : eG 

III. Stability : ; ; : , : , ay ee 

CHAPTER II. 

DECORATION AND SOURCES OF ORNAMENT . : ass 
I. Natural Decoration 

The First Method . : ‘ : lene 

The Second Method : : : : faa 34 

The Third Method . ; : : : #° 89 


II. Natural Forms ; ; : ‘ ‘ ‘ i 843 


Vill CONTENTS. 


III. Invented Forms 
IV. Geometrical Forms 
V. Expression in Decoration 


CHAPTERS. 


ORNAMENTATION APPLIED TO FORM. 
I. Symmetry : 
The Principle of Simplicity. . 
II. Division of Surfaces 
III. Directing Influence 
IV. Optical Illusions : 
V. Straight and Curved Lines . 
VI. Size and Proportion in Decoration 
VII. Variation and Repetition 
VIII. Relation of Designs to Each Other 
IX. Aspect of Ornament 
X. Principles Common to Ornament 


CHAPTER IV. 


FURNIIURE . ; : 3 ; 
OTHER POINTS COMMON TO ORNAMENT 





PART Il1,.—PRACTICE. 


MATERIALS USED IN DECORATION. 


SECTION 
I, Stone, Marble, Granite, and Porphyry . 
II. Wood, Ebony, and Ivory 
III. Bronze, Tin, and Electro Bronze 
IV. Iron 
V. Brass, Coone bony Pa Zinc 


PAGE 


IOI 
118 


147 


163 
167 


171 
176 
184 
1g2 
199 


CONTENTS. 


SECTION 
VI. Gold and Silver 
VII. Metal Engraving, Stone Racee. Nieling yee 
cening, and Sgrafitto . 
VIII. Marquetry and Inlaid Work, Meee =A] inet 
Plaster : ; ; ; : : 
IX. Enamels . 
X. Marble Mosaic and Soheistes ae 
XI. Blown, Cut, Engraved, and Enamelled Glass 
XII. Stained, Painted, and Engraved Glass 
XIIL. Stucco, Plaster, Plastered Canvas, Imitation Stone, 
Imitation Wood, and Lacquered Work 
XIV. Pottery made on the Wheel, Moulded and Stamped 
Terra-Cotta, Ornamented Pottery, Kaolin, Stone- 
ware, and Monumental Terra-Cotta 
XV. Coloured Terra-Cotta, Painted Pottery, Porcelain oe 
Lava, Architectonic Terra-Cotta, and Glazed 
Tiles ; : : ; : ‘ : 
XVI. Wrought, Stamped, and Cut Leather, Binding 
Leather, Cloth, Wafled Paper, and Saddlery 
XVII. Coloured Papers, Coloured Calicoes, and Printed 
Fabrics 
XVIII. Tapestry Biggin oe: rare Feet Rugs aa 
Worsted ‘ ; 
XIX. Textiles, Cashmere Shawls, English Me erent 
Shawls, Embroidery, and Lace ‘rimmings . 
XX. Decorative Painting, Monochromes, Curtains, Blinds, 


and I}luminated and Ornamental Writing 


1x 


PAGE 


205 


212 


217 
225 
232 
237 
243 


250 


255 





DECORATIVE COMPOSITION 


INTRODUCTION. 


I.—DECORATIVE ART COMPOSITION. 


Decorative, or as it is sometimes called, ormamental art, 
is too often considered as occupying an inferior posi- 
tion in the hierarchy of the Fine Arts; as_ having 
nothing in common with them, except in outward ap- 
pearance. This is, however, a mistake which it is neces- 
sary to correct, since the word decorative is applicable to 
all the arts, when they are used to satisfy certain con- 
ditions of usefulness with reference to surroundings or 
position. 

There is little difficulty in classifying arts applied to 
industry or industrial arts,* such as working in bronze, 
wood, iron, ceramics, enamels, mosaic, tapestry, glass, 
etc., for decorative or architectural purposes, the latter 
being readily recognised as one of its finest and noblest 


* The expres-ion zzdustrial arts has been criticised on the plea 
that art is debased when applied to industria: ends, and has been 
replaced by art industries, which is in no way more logical. We 
shall not enter into mere question of words; what is important 
is, that, whichever expression is used, it be understood. 


2 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


expressions; but confusion is apt to exist when we 
approach painting and sculpture, no matter how deco- 
rative their chief object may be. Do not the frescoes 
which cover our walls, the pier-glasses, and doors, as well 
as the bas-reliefs, medallions, busts, and statues, associated 
with a fine architectural building, and forming part of 
it, all belong to decorative art? ‘This, their essential 
characteristic, 1s not met with in works of art conceived 
without reference to their surroundings, and consequently 
susceptible of being displaced at will. 

There are works, however, which have been, by com- 
mon consent, called decorative, although they were not 
executed with a view to any definite destination; but 
in this case they are possessed of special qualities, and, if 
necessary, they may be introduced in general decoration ; 
whilst we see works conceived in view of a particular 
site wanting in such qualities, and thus unfitted for the 
part assigned to them. The main object, therefore, in 
decorative composition 1s the study of those qualities 
whereby balance between the various parts of a work, 
whether of form or decoration, is secured, and a whole, 
attractive in itself and in harmony with its surroundings, 
is obtained. 

But before entering into these complex questions we 
wish to note one or two points: First, with regard to 
industrial products, we would observe, although they have 
no bearing upon art, that the practical use for which they 
are intended should be wellkept in view. Are we notnght, 
for instance, to demand that the mouth ofa vessel shall allow 
of water being poured easily, that the handles shall be con- 


INTRODUCTION. 3 


venient; and the various openings of a piece of furniture 
disposed with regard to their practical use? Exceptions 
will naturally be made of objects fashioned solely to please 
the eye, with no reference to domestic uses, such as. 
decorative plates and ornamental metal-work. Even 
practical usefulness, to be complete, should be accom- 
panied by a certain degree of beauty, so as to give 














amare * 
HTT ATA) | 


mT TTT : 
Re Bey 


aide 





Fig. 1.—Artistic and Lnartistic Work. 


to its embodiment something more than mere mechani- 
cal value. There is, unfortunately, a prevalent idea 
abroad that the beautiful is attained by complicated 
forms overloaded with elaborate ornamentation. That 
this is an error will be made apparent to the most 
inexperienced eye by the following very simple example. 
Fig. 1 represents two vessels of the same height, made 


4 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


of the same clay, and we may assume that the same care 
was bestowed upon the execution of each. They are 
each furnished with two handles, and decorated with an 
equal number of brown stripes painted on the outer 
surface; A is the work of a simple potter, without artistic 
education, whilst B is the work of one of those Greek 
workmen, whose refined taste is too well known to need 
comment. There is no one but will feel the superiority 
of vase B over its companion A; the purity of outline, 
the finish of the handles, the division of the stripes, 
at once establish a wide difference in the artistic value of 
the two pieces. 

It will be seen from this example that a knowledge of the 
laws both of form and of decoration will raise the standard 
of any work, from the lowest grade of industry to the 
highest standard of art. Clearness is another quality 
which it is no less important to bear in mind, and which 
will be dealt with in our chapter on decorative composi- 
tion. The best guide for the attainment of c/earness is 
common sense. In acomposition, for instance, it will not 
be satisfied unless all the component parts, however 
complicated, can be viewed at a glance, and without 
effort even at some distance. An undecided method; 
profuseness of detail, want of truth in the part assigned 
to the subject of the “work, ze. all the defects most 
opposed to distinctness (and, alas ! too frequently seen in 
current composition), cannot be too severely or too often 
stigmatized, if it is wished to raise the standard of our art 
industries from the mere routine which seems to have 
taken permanent root in our studios. 


INTRODUCTION. 5 


II.— REPRESENTATION BY MEANS OF DRAWING. 


BEFORE we approach the discussion of the laws of decora- 
tive composition we will pass in review the various ways: 
of faithfully representing, by transcription, the forms or 
decorative subjects which imagination has conceived. 

To work in relief, is, doubtless, the most satisfactory 
treatment for massive objects; but not every artist 
can model, and if he could, there are scores of composi- 
tions, even on a reduced scale, which it would be 
difficult to express by such a method. It is necessary, 
therefore, for the student to master every appearance of 
form, and to train himself to allow for height, breadth, and 
thickness ; not to be satisfied with height and breadth 
only, which any drawing will express, but to note especially 
thickness, the fictitious representation of which is not 
easily detected. Sculptors accustomed to clay or wax 
modelling always bear in mind the third dimension; thus - 
their drawings, albeit frequently unskilful, are possessed 
of features peculiarly valuable to artists. ‘This important 
quality is not always traceable in the work of furniture, 
bronze, and ceramic designers, and their carelessness often 
causes producers, in their perplexity, to interpret incomplete 
drawings after their own light, or to resort to alterations 
and expedients which debase and but faintly recall the 
original composition. 

Objects are represented by projection or perspective. 
Projection consists in determining on a plane surface the 
perpendiculars let down on each side of the object to be 

represented, This conventional view is the only one 


6 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


which faithfully reproduces the natural or reduced size of 
forms, whilst preserving their proportions and positions. 
The example we give is an inlaid casket with drawers 


CE CEECEG 


CEL 


ee 
i 
i) 
Ro) 
o 





Fig. 2.—Coffer viewed in Projection. 


and handles, seen under various aspects by means of 
projection, Fig. 2. 

When projection is straight or vertical, and parallel 
to the main side, it is called side elevation, a. When 
the side is shown, it is called J/ateral or flank B; if 


INTRODUCTION. 7 


the object is seen ob/iguely, itis an oblique projection ; if the 
interior of the object is to be shown in the drawing, we 
are supposed to indicate this by one or several vertical 
sections or projections, c. These cuts or sections are 
longitudinal when they run from top to bottom, or ¢vazs- 
verse when irom side to side. If it is the top which is 
shown in projection, allowing a view of the interior, with 


h 2 
se se —- SOrizen __ — ——- —-— 





Fig. 3.—Coffer viewed in Perspective. 


or without horizontal cut, such a projection is termed 
plan or ground plan. 

Perspective is the science by which objects are repre- 
sented according to their appearance, not according to 
their actual shape and relative position. It is a natural 
view, which, if it does not give us the exact shape, will 
enable us to form a better and more general idea of 


8 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


objects as they appear to us from a certain standpoint, 
seen in Fig. 3. The one stroke drawing, which found 
great favour in the first half of this century, is a very 
defective process of representation ; for a single outline, 
however firm and broad is inadequate to indicate 
bodies in relief. Forms with curved plans, rounded 
surfaces, and octagonals, when shown in projection, 
require additional modelling, if it is wished to avoid dis- 
agreeable surprises in the results. 

Forms with square or rectangular plans, associated 
with curved plans, necessitate an oblique or flank perspec- 
tive, because of the different impression received accord- 
ing as a straight or oblique view of the object is obtained, 
Fig. 4.* 

On the other hand, forms with triangular plan, as tripods, 
for instance, when seen on a certain side, show a kind 
of zzclination, which the student must distrust and 
allow for, since the regular projections, both at the 
angle or front, have no trace of such inclination. Another 
bad habit of frequent occurrence with designers and 
architects, is to sketch fragments only of their drawings 
to save time and trouble; whether to show two different 
surfaces united on the same axis, or to avoid the weari- 
some rendering of a long symmetrical repetition. Let 
the student remember that time spent in making a com- 
plete drawing is time well spent; for thus an accurate 
and general idea of the object is obtained. No one, not 


* Cabinet-makers, architects, and workers in bronze are fully 
aware of the effect of execution of similar forms as compared with 
their designs. 


INTRODUCTION. 9 


even the most skilled artist, is able to inform himself of 
the whole from a fraction only. Hence the whole com- 
position, if but a sketch, should first be carefully outlined, 
and half roses, mutilated pieces of furniture, bits of fron- 





Fig. 4.—Object viewed in Oblique and Flank Perspective. 


tals and ceilings, peremptorily banished from the sketch- 
book and album. It is true, we see in numbers of ancient 
collections sets of mutilated drawings, where regard for 
economy and want of space excuse, to a certain extent, 
such a mode of procedure, albeit at the cost of part of 


10 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


the interest and just apprehension of the objects them- 
selves. 

What has been said in respect to careful drawing 
equally applies to compositions dependent on colour for 
their general effect, where it is essential to notify, if not 
complete colouring, at least the relative valwe of the tints. 
When the student is thus possessed of the requisite 
materials for a definite composition, which close observa- 
tion and patient training will have obtained for him, 
he can confidently proceed to work without fear of 
failure. 





Fig. 5.—A delicate and clearly-defined Decorative Design, 


PART J.—THEORY. 


CHAPTER I: 


FORM. 


In the subject under consideration, form is the ensemble 
of appearing surfaces which define objects of art. 
These are composed of forms used as grounds or centres, 
to which painted or relief decoration is applied. Decora- 
tion and form are often conceived simultaneously, but we 
will take up each in turn, so as to establish more clearly 
the principles of composition. 

It may be laid down as an axiom in decorative art, 
that form must be perfect in itself and should not resort 
to applied decoration, in order to conceal defects and 
incompleteness. The disregard of this principle explains 
the reserve so long entertained respecting industrial arts, 
where a tasteful decoration is often applied to forms ul- 
constructed or insufficiently studied. 

_ Theoretically, we will distinguish forms of ‘Aree appa- 
rent dimensions (height, breadth, and thickness), from 
those of ¢wo dimensions (height and breadth), in which 
thickness is not particularly concerned. Starting with 
forms of three dimensions applied to objects of art, such 
as vases turned on the wheel with circular plans and 


12 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


their developments,* we shall pass through every variety 
of furniture down to architectural subjects, ending with 
forms of two dimensions, represented by decorative 
panels, screens, frames, borders, plates, fans, and the 
like. 


SECTION JI.—SOLIDs. 


Good outline and good froportion are essential condi- 
tions in objects of art. Proportion regulates the various 
elements of form, and form itself. 

The first rule to be observed in order to get good pro- 





Fig. 6.—Objects possessing Dominant Shape. 


portion, is to provide that one of the elements of form be 
distinctly dominant, so that the eye, instead of being per- 
plexed, as to the relative proportion assigned to the 
various elements of the work, will instinctively rest on 
the dominant element; thus much valuable time is saved, 
resulting in a simpler and more distinct impression. It 


* The va e, because of its typical shape and consequent import- 
ance in decorative art, will frequently occur as an illustration. 

t+ Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Medizval architecture, and in a 
less degree, Italian Renaissance, present numerous examples of this 
principle, too often neglected by French artists of the same 
period. 


THEORY. 13 


is needless to say that Fig. 6 shows a set of objects in 
which a particular shape is dominant. Consequently, 
when projections, shapes, and outlines, are dissimilar, 
equalities of height should not be given to the various 


» Wy 





Fig. 7.—Shapes of False Equality. 


parts of form, as in Fig. 7, where all the objects are 
defective, because apparent equality is assigned to ele- 
ments which do not demand it. For the same reason 
equality of projection should not be associated with dis- 





Fig. 8.—Shapes of Equal Projection. 


similar outlines. But if the artist had intended to portray 
symmetrical repetition by means of portions of form iden- 
tical in outline, then, whatever their position, rigorous 
equality of height or projection should be allowed to each 
of the repeated elements, Fig. 8. In other words, dif- 


14 DECORATIVE COMPOSI7ZION. 


ference or parity of outlines should accompany parity of 
heights and projections, and the choice once made should 
afterwards be unhesitatingly and forcibly affirmed. These 
principles are equally applicable to secondary parts such 







Perfuming Pan 
Dominant. 


Resemblance and 
False Equality. 


Resemblance and 
False Fquality. 


Vase Dominant. 


Resemblance and Support 
False Equality. Dominant. 


fig. 9. - Lxamples of Proportion. 


as supports, pedestals, small columns, and the like, which 
should follow the general outline and be proportioned to 
the objects of art with which they are to be definitively 
associated, Fig. 9. Outline is the obligatory complement 


THEORY. 15 


of all proportion; it endows form with its final touch of 
grace or characteristic impress, whilst its importance in 
architecture and industrial arts is too well known to 
require more than simple mention. 





fig. 10.—Outlines of Mouldings. 


a, Continuous Joinings. 6. Contrasted Joinings. 


There are two different kinds of outlines: geveral out- 
fine, also called shape, and detailed outlines or mouldings. 
In principle, each curve of an outline joins on to the 


16 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


preceding, and the following curve, either by following 


ae 


General Sketch. 





Study of Details. 


Fig. 11.—Objects in Outline and in Detail, 


the same direction, as the continuous joint (a), or break 


THEORY. . 17 


ing and crossing it in a new direction, as the contrasted 
joint (b), Fig. 10. In continuous joints each curve must 
preserve unity of direction and inflection, in respect to 
the adjacent curve, without attention to intervening 
straight plans, such as slips and listels; whilst in contrasted 





hig. 12.— Angular and Disagreeable Shapes. 


joints care should be exercised to make each crossing as 
regular as possible. Thus disconnected and broken 
outlines will be avoided. 

General outline must be constructed exactly as the 





Fig. 13.—Angular and Disagrecable Shapes. 


drawing of a figure, where preliminary lines are first put 
in before blocking out the features, Fig. 11. The out- 
line should be firm and characteristic, without hardness, 
rigidity, or unduly straight lines, resulting in angular and 
disagreeable shapes, Figs. 12 and 13; nor should soft, 


18 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


weak outlines, chiefly composed of curves devoid of 
rectilinear joints, be cultivated, Fig. 14. These laws of 
profile or outline govern in. an equal degree all acces- 
sories and definitive parts of an object of art, such as 





fig. 14.—Weak Outlines. 


handles, supports, terminals, and mouldings, in which 
search after distinct form is essential, Fig. 15. 

Mouldings, applhed on form, have an endless variety 
of outlines, differentiated by names which have become 





fig. 15.—Proper Outline applied tov Details. 


classical. They are divided into two classes: mouldings 
having open profiles, i.e. projected and seen in their com- 
plete development, and mouldings with receding profiles 
(Fig. 16), exhibiting parts unseen in projection, the effect 


THEORY. 19 


of which, null in a drawing, is very apparent in reality, 





fig. 16.—Mouldings. 


and must be carefully established to prevent disappoint- 
ment in the result, Fig. 17. 





fig. 17.—Drawing compared with Work viewed in Projection. 
But what is the relation to be observed between mould- 


Good. 





fig. 18.—Contrast of Artistic and Inartistic Outlines. 


ings and form? At the outset, and in accordance with 


20 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


the rule laid down a little earlier, the student must provide 
that some forms, whether of height or projection, shall 
prevail; consequently, dssimilar outlines should not be 
made to look similar, if it is wished to avoid a common 





fig. 19.—Axial Mouldings. 


and disagreeable aspect, Fig. 18. If, on the contrary, 
the artist, following an axis, had sought to repeat sym- 
metrically one or several mouldings, each of them should 
be identical with the corresponding mouldings, Fig. 19. 





ae 
Fig. 20.-—Undecided Outlines. 

What has been said with regard to shape and outline 

applies equally to settings, borders, frames, and the like, 

in which mouldings with insufficient relief or undecided 

outlines must be rejected as ineffective, Fig. 20. 


THEORY. aI 


Sharp and acute arcs should likewise be rejected, on 
account of their angularity and hardness of outline, and 





fig. 21.—Acute Outlines. 


the care they necessitate in working and preserving the 
pieces, Fig. 21; small transition plans, such as fillets 


at 





fig. 22.—Gliding Surfaces Corrected. 


and arabesques, will effectually prevent both this, and 
also the mistake of tangent juxtapositions, which are apt 


22 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


to create an impression of gliding 
surfaces, seen in vase A, corrected in 
vase B, Fig. 22. When simplicity 
of shape and uniform treatment are 
desired, a repetition of naked mould- 
ings, occurring at stated intervals, 
may be resorted to with excellent 
effect, Fig. 23. 

In conclusion, we advise the 
student to use the compasses as little 
as possible in tracing the curved 
portions of outlines, if he wishes to 
avoid showing up the joints in a 
very disagreeable way; the hand 
under the guidance of an accurate 
eye and feeling will achieve graceful, 
delicate, or characteristic outlines, 
never attained by mechanical aids, 
Fig. 24. Exception may perhaps be 








Fig. 23.—Bare 
Moulding Repeated. 














fig. 24.—Graceful Outlines. 


made for certain mouldings, such as beads, tores or gorges 


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24 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


with circular outlines, which by their disposition require 
to be joined on to given centres, Fig. 25. 
The best models for a thorough study of outlines 





fig. 26.—Weak Outlines. 


and mouldings will be found in Greek and Roman 
architecture, in the Renaissance of all countries, in 


Oriental, and especially Corinthian, vases, which in 



















fig. 27.—Contrasted Examples. 


grace, simplicity, and perfect shape, have never been 
surpassed. 


THEORY. 25 


SEcTION I].—PLANES. 


A PLEASING shape is essential in forms not dependent on 
thickness for their expression. ‘The same laws which 
govern profile are applicable to shape, which also 
demands firmness and breadth in all its parts to produce 
character and effect. Although it may seem superfluous, 
we remind the student that sgwares should have all their 
sides of exactly the same dimension, and their angles 





fig. 28.—Angles too Acute. 


right angles; whilst the Zengths and breadths of rectangles 
and ovals should be clearly differentiated, and circles 
should not be given more than one centre. Yet these 
very elementary principles are too often neglected by 
architects and industrial artists, and result in disagreeable, 
weak outlines, Fig. 26. Partial outlines, such as ancone 
angles, rounded cusps, festooned borders, oriental arches, 
scallops, etc., are subject to the same principles. But 
whilst discarding solidsand hollows, some parts should 
be kept decidedly dominant, Fig. 27. 


26 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


Here the necessity is once more felt of systematic 
repetition in symmetrical shapes, ranged on the same 
axis, whatever their disposition may be, and also of the 
rejection of false symmetries, ze. of identical shapes 
repeated, notwithstanding the absence of an axis. Again, 
unduly receding, sharp or protruding angles must not be 
cultivated, because to disagreeable, rigid outlines would 
be added difficulties of workmanship, and exaggerated 





Fig 29.—Soft and Undulating Contours. 


delicacy, denoting not delicacy, but weakness of the 
worst kind, Fig 28. Undulating, soft shapes, made up 
of curves, are equally vicious, Fig. 29; whilst whittled 
edges, showing a mere confusion of disjointed outlines, 
should not be permitted. Examples of this may be 
observed in scores of time-pieces of Flemish and German 
Renaissance, notably those of Dieterlingen, Fig. 30. In 
a word, in shape as in proportion, perfect truthfulness 


THEORY. 27 


must be the ruling principle, and once a style has been 
chosen, be it regular or irregular, it should be persisted in 
and applied without the slightest hesitation. 

Classic, Renaissance, and Arabic art show in their 
arches, frontels, brackets, escutcheons, tables, couches, 
and time-pieces the best models for imitation, the shapes 
of which are marked by great truthfulness and variety. 


SECTION II1—STasitirvy. 


No form, however beautiful, can be perfect which is not 





fig. 30.—Disjointed Outlines. 


possessed of that quality which not only secures objects 
from falling, but gives them also an appearance of 
stability ; hence an object that does not fulfil this con- 
dition, and completely reassures the eye, may have had 
conscientious ‘mechanical skill bestowed upon it, but 
artisti¢é in the strict and only true sense of the word it 
never can be called.. Chairs you are afraid to sit down 
upon lest they should give way, tables and couches which 
look unsafe for want of strong supports, for all their 
delicate work, cannot be classed among objects of art. 


li 7 





fig. 31.—-- Proper Balance. 


LHEORY. 29 


Irregular forms mounted on narrow bases necessitate 
still greater care in the distribution of the masses, pro- 
portionate with the bases, to give them an air of stability. 
Such are many works of Caravaggio and Lepautre, those 
of the sixteenth century generally, and the Rocaille style ; 
the ewers, coffee and tea-pots of all styles, where handles 
are made to balance the mouths or spouts, together with 





XVIIth Century. Indo-Persian, 
Fig. 32.—Proper Balance. 


medizeval pieces, in which a horn is the primary element, 
Figs. 31 and 32. 

Some industrial artists thicken portions of their pieces 
to steady them ; but these are subtleties not very appa- 
rent to the uninitiated, and do not compensate for bad 
distribution of masses, while they cannot redeem works 


30 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


so constructed, whatever their finish and technique, from 
being inferior art. 

Plain triangular objects, such as tripods, three-handled 
vases, three-figured plinths, and the lke, demand, as a 
rule, a relief device on the portions facing the angles or 





Fig. 33.—EZxample of Good Equilibriuit 


sides, which, without establishing symmetry in every 
respect, shall nevertheless bring about some kind of 
counterpoise. 

Irregular pendent forms of two dimensions also require 
a similar equilibrium; such are those time-pieces of 


LHAOR TY. 31 


which the spirited decorations found so much favour in 
the seventeenth century, Fig. 33. 

The equilibrium of suspension, rather than that of 
Station, is necessary for these forms, which may be 
supposed to hang by an invisible thread from a point 
above them, this point being in the prolongation of a 
vertical line drawn through the point of suspension, and 
dividing the surface into two parts of apparently equal 
weight. Hence escutcheon 4, Fig. 34, will appear better 


2) 
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— a 





fig. 34 —Suspensory Equilibrium. 


ordered than zg, albeit the equilibrium of both lions is the 
same. Essential in objects of domestic use, stability 
may be dispensed with in representations of the same 
objects decoratively figured in painting, bas-reliefs, 
earthenware, tapestry, marquetry or mosaic ; thus oriental 
and Renaissance compositions frequently show vases 
ornamented by foliated masses, with forms and supports 
so fragile and attenuated, that they are only saved from 
incongruity by their decorative character, Fig. 35. 

It will have been observed, that we have made no 


32 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


mention of forms and subjects obtained by mathematical 
or geometric combinations, such as squares, diagonals, 
equilateral triangles, and the like, extensively used by 





fig. 35.—Decorative Use of Forms. 


Egyptian, Greek, and Medizeval architects in the treat- 
ment of their plastic works. We are of opinion that the 
student will do well to use such methods sparingly, sub- 
ordinating them to the main subject of the composition. 


CHAPTER II. 


DECORATION AND SOURCES OF ORNAMENT. 


BEFORE we essay to apply decoration on form we will 
examine decoration fer se, z.e. the innumerable assem- 
blage of subjects known under the generic term of orna- 
mentation, having for its object the embellishment of the 
object on which it is applied. If then, the end of orna- 
ment is to enhance the beauty of form, it is obvious that 
elaborate and complicated ornamentation which fails to 
do this must not be encouraged. 


THREE METHODS OF DECORATION. 


The multitudinous sources from which decoration 
borrows its inspiration are reducible to three, nature, 
geometry, and manufactured articles. But as the materials 
furnished by nature are susceptible of widely dissimilar 
modes of application, ranging from photography and the 
perfect imitation of nature, to the most conventional 
interpretation, we will take themup successively, dividing 
them into three methods, starting with mature at one end, 
and conventionaity at the other. 


34 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


SECTION I.—NATURAL DECORATION. 
THE FIRST METHOD. 


The jst method consists in a representation, pure and 
simple, of decorative material found in nature, or as the 
artist sincerely thinks he sees it. To nature he turns 
for all the component elements of a picture: such as 
modelling of forms, local colour, horizons, skies, land- 
scapes, and architectural backgrounds. But to this 
servile imitation of the original a decorative artist is care- 
ful to add arrangement, by giving prominence to the 
chief parts, proportioning the lines of outline and 
general grouping of the masses (too little attended to 
by painters and sculptors), whilst the colouring of painted 
subjects may be softened or sharpened, so as to obtain 
and affirm truthfulness of aspect with reference to the 
relative positions of the decoration and the spectator. 
Judicious choice and subtlety of arrangement, rather than 
exact imitation are the main features to be sought for in 
this class of subject, seen in the panel, Louis XIV., Fig. 
36. As examples of this first method may be quoted mural 
and ceiling paintings, Renaissance frescoes from Giotto 
to modern times,* wherein decorative treatment, by its 
subject, background, modelling, and subtlety of light and 
colour, nearly approaches a picture in general effect; 
together with the bas-relief of artists of the same period who 
sought reality in perspective grounds, viewed in the bas- 
reliefs of Bernini, d’Algarade, and Puget’s works; whilst 


* There are some old paintings, which, by their truthful and sin- 
cere treatment, have a right to be classed under the first method. 





Fig. 36.—Natural Decoration. 


36 DECORATIVE- COMPOSITION. 


in art industries, stained glass, enamels, mosaics, and 


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tapestry, a like representation has been followed resulting 
in similar effects, Fig. 37. 


THEORY. 37 


THE SECOND METHOD. 


The second method holds a 
middle course between a faithful 
reproduction of nature and con- 
ventionality. Natural elements are 
still employed, but they are now 
introduced amidst conventional 
surroundings where designs stand 
out on gold or coloured grounds, 
and where landscapes and _archi- 
tecture, rendered perspectively, are 
subordinated to the general effect 
of the work. To allow for a certain 
appearance of stability, festooned 
wreaths and pendent ornaments 
are introduced, whilst figures, when 





not flying, rest on conventional 
supports of the flimsiest kind. But 








whatever the devices, be they fixed, 
pendent, or floating in mid _air, 
they must, at all times, preserve 
their modelling and natural colour, 
exemplified in the Regence panel, 
Fig. 38, and also in Fig. 39. 

Old Roman modelled-paintings, 


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many Renaissance works, and f- 


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scores of others executed in our |_iiiiin 
own times belong to the second fig, 38 —Revence 
method; together with panels, Panel. 





earthenwares, enamels, stained glass, tapestries, and the 











Fig 39.—Conventional Treatment of Nature. 


THEORY. 39 


like, wherein modelled and naturally tinted subjects stand 
out on conventional grounds, Fig. 4o. 

In this class may also be ranged sculptured composi- 
tions, the background of which does not aim at pictur- 
esque effects; such are many bas-reliefs of Ghiberti, 
Donatello, and the sculptors of the Italian Renaissance 
generally. 


THE THIRD METHOD. 


The ¢hird method is marked by the typical character of 
the subjects. In it details and modelling are modified to 
suit the decoration, or, if requisite, so attenuated as com- 
pletely to disappear, except the outline, which is kept 
light or sufficiently tinted for the purposes of expression ; 
when the subjects seem fixed or nailed on the back- 
ground, with or without apparent relief, and local colour 
is brightly tinted, modified or shaded in considerable pro- 
portions. It should be noted, that in works where all 
the elements are purely conventional, a high standard of 
excellence and by far the most satisfactory results, are 
obtained. 

Among the endless examples of the third method may 
be noted the early paintings and sculptured decorations 
of Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and Etruria; the Byzantine 
mosaics, medizval stained-glass, and other paintings 
down to the fifteenth century, together with the decora- 
tive arts of other civilised Eastern nations. With regard 
to the latter, we may assuredly ascribe to ignorance, 


rather than to intelligent choice, their peculiarly conven- 
3 





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tional 


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ttural Objects on Conv 


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fig. 41.—Mixed Composition. 


42 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


tional interpretation; but whether through inability to 
imitate nature, or the natural inclinations of the artists, 
the outcome in most of their compositions (painted tiles, 
bricks, and mosaics) is a result eminently satisfactory 
from a decorative point of view, which a servile render- 
ing of nature would have failed to obtain. We conclude 





fig. 42.—Mixed Composition. 


with an example of mixed composition, Louis XIII. 
style, wherein panels of the first method are inserted 
amidst surroundings of the second method, Figs. 41 and 
42. We will now proceed to a detailed study of the 
sources of ornament and their various methods of appli- 
cation. 


THEORY. 43 


SECTION II.—NATURAL FORMS. 


Nature is a vast repository which yields to the decora- 
tive artist a boundless variety of combinations and 
devices. He may emphatically say, “The world is mine,” 
—trees, plants, and shrubs, whether with leaves or with- 
out, the brilliantly hued families of flowers and fruits, 
shapely bulbs, roots, and seeds, all are his to use as he 
pleases, either in floral masses, foliated scrolls, termini, 
wreaths, or pendent ornaments. 

With reference to the first and second methods, a close 
observation of nature in all her moods is essential, in 
order to reproduce modelling and local colour with 
truthfulness and sympathy. In addition to this, judicious 
grouping and intelligent selection should be aimed at, so 
that the best points of an artistic decorative composition 
may be brought out. Such are the floral decoration of 
the Renaissance, the Lyons school, and those of our own 
epoch, represented by Rossetti, Holman Hunt, Burne 
Jones, and others. 

If we pass onwards to the third method we shall find 
that the flowers and other natural objects employed céase 
to be a faithful imitation of nature and are rather “‘con- 
ventional representations founded upon it, yet sufficiently 
suggestive to convey the intended image to the mind with- 
out destroying the unity of the object they are intended 
to decorate.” 

In this latter method, if symmetry or ngidity be the 
characteristic of the object, theidea will be best conveyed 


44 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


if the flower, used in its decoration, shares this character- 
istic, whilst graceful curves and gentle undulations should 





Broom. Ground Ivy. 


Fig. 43.—Plants and Flowers. 


be expressed by flexible and delicate outlines, Fig. 43. 
In a word, characteristic outline and simplicity of work- 


THEORY. 45 


manshij) should compensate for loss of complete design 

























































































fig. 44 —Symmetrical Ornament with Distinctive Outline. 


and charm of colour, Fig. 44. Admirable examples of this 


46 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


style are seen in Persian and medizval art, and also in 
works of our own times, where arevival of ancient methods 


has been eminently successful, Figs. 45 and 46. 




















































































































































































































































































































Fig. 45.—Modern fersian Design. 


From the foregoing remarks it is clear that the artist 
must feel no compunction in simplifying vegetable forms, 
when owing to their intricate or minute details, adapta- 
tion to decorative treatment would be difficult, and the 







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48 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


clearness of the composition destroyed. Single flowers, 
such as tulips, lilies, narcissi, eucharis, jessamine, etc., 
should therefore be chosen as more appropriate than 
lovely roses and gorgeous peonies. Fig. 47 shows the 
treatment roots and bulbs may receive, and in what 
manner they may be used in ornament. It is needless 
to note that exceptional or abnormal elements should be 
discarded, as, however interesting from a botanical or 





Indian. XVth Century. 
Fig. 47.—Decorative Treatment of Roots. 


other scientific point of view, they would be out of place 
in a work of art; unless it should be found that some 
such accident were eminently appropriate, as we see in a 
certain class of stalk, which always breaks off at the 
point needed to interrupt the monotony of a long curve, 
Fig. 43. 

Of late years artists have derived their studies and 
inspiration from nature, and the result has been a remark- 
able improvement in every art. This is nowhere more 


THEORY. 49 


apparent than in decorative composition, wherein designs 
of infinite variety, marked by truthful expression and 
feeling, have been introduced, which leave little, if any, 
room for criticism, and have superseded, none too soon, 
the acanthus of classic times. The latter we cannot but 
admire, when seen on Greek or Roman work of the best 
period, where its treatment is tender, delicate, and satis- 
factory in the highest degree. But even in the hands of - 
skilful craftsmen it sadly deteriorated in process of time, 
until it became at last a frigid, painful object to behold. 
In illustration of the principle we advocate, the student 
is advised to examine the admirable examples of floral 
decoration afforded by the arts of Greece, Persia, Japan 
Egypt, and the vigorous monumental Gothic ornamenta- 
tion, Fig. 49, where the Egyptian, Greek, and Gothic 
forms, though treated conventionally, suggest budding 
nature, and have a due regard to natural growth. On 
Persian pottery, on the other hand, on dishes, basins, 
water-bottles, tiles, etc., very naturalistic representations 
of plants, such as pinks, roses, and hyacinths, are found 
together with animal, and in some instances even with 
human forms; whilst Japanese work is sometimes marked 
by exceedingly realistic treatment, at other times by con- 
ventional rendering. The richest collections of such works 
are found in the British and South Kensington Museums, 
and are easy of access to any one who wishes to study 
them. 

Animal representation enters largely into decorative 
art, for the artist may call to his aid every class of living 
being, from man and the other mammals down to insects, 


50 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


mollusks, zoophites, birds, reptiles, and fishes; for in 
nature no object is contemptible, and all are capable of 
expressing beauty if rightly understood. The principle 
attending the rendering of floral objects, whether in a 
naturalistic or conventional form, is also applicable here. 


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fig. 48.—Roman Sculpture. 


The student should bring out the special character of 
the animal under observation. Roman sculptures, those 
of the Renaissance, and scores of modern decorative 
compositions, will afford excellent examples, Fig. 48. 

If we turn to the third method, we shall find that the 
representation must be still further reduced ; since here 


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52 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


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Gothic. Arabian. 
Fig. 50.—Animal Forms. 























Fig. §t.—Assyrian Animal Form. 


filled in with a flat tint, whilst accessories are either very 


THEORY, 53 


much subdued or left out altogether. But no matter how 
arbitrary in character, the form must always preserve 
sufficient reality to enable the beholder to know at once 
what it is meant to portray, Fig. 50. 

The remarkable animal paintings of Egypt, such as 
the hawk, eagle, goose, ox, snake, and wrens, those found 
in Assyria, Fig. 51, and on Greek vases, the symbolic 
animals of Byzantium, the animal forms of Moorish 
heraldry, and on Medieval suits of arms, were all similarly 
















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Fig. 52.—Yapanese Ornament. 


treated ; whilst the compositions of Persia, notably in 
her MSS., and those of India, China, and Japan, are 
interspersed with conventional animal forms, Fig. 52. 
Then mention may be made of mythological concep- 
tions, such as sphinxes, griffins, chimeeras, centaurs, 
tritons, and those cusped-winged genii whose beauty and 
charm are so great and real, as sometimes to outvie the 
creations of nature, Fig. 53; and the symbolic, weird 
monsters of Arabian and Persian literature, which, if less 


SA DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


strikingly beautiful, are none the less curious, and which, 
when transplanted to Europe, developed into those 
fantastic creatures of the Middle Ages, Fig. 54, and still 
further into the grotesque productions of the Renaissance, 





hig. 53.-—Mythological Ornament. 


Fig. 55. Our space forbids entering into more-detailed 
description of them, or of the fanciful, monstrous animal 
forms of Indian and Chinese art, whose peculiarities, both 
of form and expression, so frequently border on the 
grotesque. 


THEORY. 55 


The degree of civilisation, the form of government, 
but above all the religion of different peoples, have been 





Fig. 54.—iMedieval fanciful Ornament. 


powerful influences in the fashioning of the human figure 
used in art. We are struck with its formal and rigid 





fig. 55.—Kenarssance Grotesque Ornament. 


character, whether on Assyrian or Egyptian sculptures 
(noble though the latter may be), in the mosaics of 


56 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


Byzantium, or on the stained glass, paintings, and 
tapestry of Medizeval art; whilst its simple, graceful 
outline on Greek vases, enlivened solely by a few 
cunning touches, never fails to excite our admiration. 
This conventional treatment, as was observed before, 
began to disappear towards the fifteenth century, when 
painters and sculptors, encroaching on the domain of the 
- decorator, sought expression in finished modelling and 
realistic colour. And here we may note that artists have, 
at all times, sought to s//fen the human figure, when it 





fig. 56.—Cameos. 


forms but a component part of a great unit. This has 
been achieved in various ways ; sometimes, as in caryatides, 
by simple omission of the arms; at other times it is the 
legs that disappear within some ingenious device ; some- 
times the form is reduced to a mere bust, mask, or 
cameo, the section at the neck being covered with a 
band, Fig. 56 ; at other times they have dispensed even 
with this, and given us a gaping neck which seems to 
belong to a decapitated head. In our opinion these 
modifications have not struck deep or far enough. If 
the end of art is to please, the impression produced by 


THEORY. 57 


figures, standing in uncomfortable positions, supporting 
weights which would crush them in reality, is to say the 
least very unpleasing, and therefore must be artistically 
untrue. 

But the resources of nature are far from being exhausted 
with floral or animal forms ; heavenly bodies, for example, 
the sun, moon, stars; natural phenomena, such as the 
thunderbolt, rainbow, clouds, and mist; striking features 
of our planet, as lakes, seas, and rivers, have from the 
earliest times, entered into decorative composition. At 
first their application, doubtless from lack of knowledge, 
was very arbitrary or symbolic; in Egypt, for instance, 
the representation of water was a mere zig-zag. But 
now the treatment is a faithful transcript of nature, save 
that when such elements are introduced, the representa- 
tion should be generalized, the apportioning of the masses 
reduced, so as to call the imaginative faculty into play, 
and assist the expression and sentiment of the picture. 

When the second method is applied, realistic repre- 
sentation is still the governing principle—albeit in a less 
degree—as we see in the nimbus and clouds, so com- 
monly used in Renaissance art. The abus2 of clouds as 
a means of decoration is easily explained on the score of 
their usefulness in hiding awkward joints or deficiencies 
of arrangement. We cannot but admire them in great 
painters, who introduced them to lighten their immortal 
pictures ; but it must be confessed that they fared badly 
at the hands of second and third-rate artists, and fre- 
quently became soft, formless, immovable masses, or 
distended balls thrown for little or no purpose across the 


58 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


sky. They are fortunately a thing of the past, and now- 
a-days no artist could be found who would resort to 
expedients so obviously bad. 

A well-defined outline should be associated with natural 
phenomena conventionally treated, as we see on coats of 
arms, in stellated arrangements, set out in geometric 
patterns of great precision, or in solar rays forming™the 
glory of saints and martyrs. Sometimes, indeed, they 
have a symbolic meaning, such as the crescent moon of 
Diana, or thunderbolt of Jupiter. 


SECTION IIJ].—-INVENTED FORMS. 


THE rich storehouse of human industry has supplied 
the artist from the earliest times with accessories as varied 
as they are pleasing to the eye. Thus, tapestry, scrolls, 
dress, drapery, couches, chairs, vases, and candelabra ; 
the appropriate tools and badges of commerce, art, and 
science ; the arms, prows, anchors, rigging, and such-like 
- used in warfare or in navigation, have all been pressed 
into service. Ornamentation forms a conspicuous feature 
in decorative composition. 

Out of this abundance of materials, the artist can evolve 
trophies, groups, friezes, escutcheons, shelves, etc., and 
apply them naturally or conventionally, as the require- 
ments of the composition may suggest. It is not neces- 
sary to remind the student that simple objects, capable of 
a distinct outline, lend themselves to decorative treat- 
ment more easily than complicated ones. Thus tam- 
bourines, lyres, violins, and trumpets should be chosen 


THEORY. 59 


in preference to modern wind instruments, with their 
intricate arrangement of valves. The same holds good in 
respect to ancient weapons and costumes, as compared 
with those of the present time; but the student must not 
infer from this that we wish all modern elements excluded 
from decorative art; on the contrary, we think their 
application highly satisfactory if introduced in as simple 
a manner and with as few details as the subjects them- 
selves will admit, Fig. 57. 

Architecture has occupied from the earliest times a 
prominent position in decorative art. This we see, 
whether in the admirable paintings which recent re- 
searches in Egypt have revealed to us, in the bas-reliefs, 
mosaics, and ivories executed under Byzantine influence, 
in the mosaics brought to light by excavations at Pompeii 
and Herculaneum, or in Medieval sculptures, paintings, 
and Oriental MSS. ; and its unfitness in psalter or missal 
is condoned in consideration of its realistic character and 
quaintness of expression. In warm regions, and at an 
epoch when the conditions of life were different from our 
own, this style of decoration was appropriate, and suited 
dwellings that had little or no furniture to interfere with 
it; but in our houses, and with our style of furnishing, 
the case is very different. It is still less to our taste in 
the shrines and pyxes of the fifteenth century, wherein 
portals of cathedrals are represented with due accompani- 
ment of towers, steeples, buttresses, and gargoyles, and 
extremely objectionable in the lanterns, candelabra, and 
censers of the Italian Renaissance, where, for no apparent 
reason, porticoes and whole colonnades are introduced, 


60 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


and their various orders clearly indicated. This faulty 
style was again revived under the First Empire, when 
grotesque imitations of Greek and Roman _ temples 
entered into the decoration of furniture, and were con- 
spicuous everywhere. This, bad as it may seem, is not 


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fig. 57.—Decorative Use of Musical Instruments. 


much worse than when we are bidden to tread, lean, or 
sit on vividly portrayed animal or floral forms. 

In conclusion, I would remind the student that if his 
taste leads him to use architecture in ornamentation, it 
should not be made to look an imposing pile of stone, 
brick, or marble ; he should take care to keep its texture 
delicate, hazy, and vaporous, so as to seem a fit habita- 


THEOR Y. 61 


* tion for fairies and celestial beings ; and by due attention 
to works handed down to us by different nationalities, he 
will inform his judgment and acquire taste which will 
enable him to pronounce at once on the merits or 
demerits of any composition. 


SECTION IV.—GEOMETRICAL FORMS. 


GEOMETRY, as a science, is as ancient as civilisation 
itself; its adoption as a basis or accessory in decorative 
art has been, and though in a less degree, still is, almost 
universal, The charm that a geometric basis is able to 
impart to any design has no doubt been a _ powerful 
motive in determining its selection, while its aptitude 
for evolving complex and beautiful combinations out of 
simple forms, such as the lozenge, the pentagon, the 
hexagon, the square, the triangle, etc., is a further 
recommendation. Elaborate interlacing of bands and 
lines are favourite devices. in Celtic work; the chief 
ornamentation of Gothic buildings, both on the Continent 
and in this country, is dependent upon, and springs from, 
combinations markedly geometric in character; whilst 
with nations, such as the Arabs, Hindus, and Moors, 
who are debarred by their special religions from the 
use of human, animal, or vegetable forms, its applica- 
tion to architecture and every art product is almost 
universal. 

Geometric forms are seen in crystals, and in some 
kinds of star-fish ; a large number of our common flowers 
are found to be pentagonal in plan, the elder, the 


62 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


primrose, the cockle, columbine, and bittersweet, for 
example; whilst the triangular, the hexagonal, or the 
square arrangement is seen in others. 

The student will find some of the most typical arrange- 
ments placed with their diameters in contact, and based 
on straight or curvilinear lines, in Figs. 58 and 59. 


SECTION V.—EXPRESSION IN DECORATION. 


EXPRESSION is a principle dependent for its realisation 
upon the same laws as those governing general effect, 
which, although incidentally treated in the course of this 
work, we must now notice. Balance and harmony 
between the component parts, whether of modelling, 
colour, or design, are important, nay, essential qualities 
in order to obtain expression. Thus a composition will 
be inharmonious, and therefore fail in expression, if 
finished modelling and natural colour are applied to rude 
_and sketchy design; it will be equally incongruous if 
fantastic colour is associated with complete design and a 
realistic interpretation. Objects, too, should preserve 
their character so as to be easily understood; and any 
straining after recondite or mysterious significance, which 
is difficult of solution, should be avoided. If the student 
will consult the decorative productions of Medizval and 
Renaissance art, those of such painters as Durer, Holbein, 
Du Cerceau, together with the floral compositions of Ros- 
setti, H. Hunt, Burne Jones, and others, as against nearly 
all those of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 
he will find that these last, despite their undoubted 


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Fig. §9.—Gcometrical Forms. 


DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 65 


qualities, both as regards technique and skill of work- 
manship, fail to interest us or win our sympathy, because 
neglect of this principle makes them at best frigid pro- 
ductions utterly devoid of expression. A decorative 
artist, a painter, a sculptor, an engraver, an architect or 
a designer, should train himself, by constant use of pencil 
or chalk, to reproduce as faithfully as may be, vegetable, 
animal, or human forms, as they occur in nature, noting 
carefully the character of each, which he may afterwards 
imitate or modify according to the style he shall select. 
In obedience to these rules, manufactured objects should 
also receive his attention ; his drawings being made from 
the objects themselves, rather than from the drawings of 
other artists. His knowledge should be further increased 
by a due apprehension of geometric forms and _ their 
consequent development into combinations, as varied 
and rich in general effect, as they are pleasing to the eye. 
Perseverance and untiring practice will insure him 
proficiency as a draughtsman, and, what is far more 
important, an intimate and general knowledge of natural 
form and colour, which will be of the greatest utility. 
Upon the truthfulness of this he will have mainly to 
depend when he comes to paint on a large scale. 

Wewillend these remarks by suggesting frequent refer- 
ence to good works, rich collections of which exist in 
all our museums and in many private dwellings; the 
unfinished designs of great masters, such as Raphael, 
Titian, Holbein, Turner, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and others, 
will initiate the student into their methods, and in due time 
enable him to produce good work of his own. 


CHAPTER IIJ.—ORNAMENTATION APPLIED 
TO FORM. 


Our remarks have been, hitherto, confined to form and 
decoration, each separately ; we will now consider them 
together, and dwell on some principles governing the 
production of ornament applied on form. 


SECTION I.—SYMMETRY. 


Perhaps the most important of these is symmetry ; 
respecting which Mr. Ruskin says, “I only assert that it 
is necessary to the dignity of every form, and that by the 
removal of it we shall render the other elements of 
beauty comparatively ineffectual; though, on the other 
hand, it is to be observed that it 1s rather a mode of 
arrangement of qualities than a quality itself, and will 
have no power over the mind unless it should possess 
all the other constituents of beauty. A form may be 
symmetrical and ugly, as many Elizabethan ornaments, 
yet not so ugly as it would have been if unsymmetrical.” 

Symmetry has been largely employed by ornamentalists 
of all periods and nationalities. Good illustrations are 
found in the works of Egypt, Assyna, Greece, Rome, 
those of the Renaissance and of modern times. Symmetry 


THEORY. 67 


may be absolute or relative ; it is absolute when a design 
is composed of devices ngorously similar, disposed 





UCU IA Wee COE CE, 
AXE 


Fig. 60.—ABSOLUTE SYMMETRY. 


inversely on each side of one or more imaginary lines 
termed axes, Fig. 60. 

It is relative when it admits of variety in the sub- 
ordinate parts; such would be a decorative panel, with 
figures, caryatides, drapery, and pendents of diversified 
position, in which a just balance of the masses has been 


68 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


regarded, Fig. 64. Obviously the principle of variation, or 





Fig. 61.—RELATIVE SYMMETRY. 
relative symmetry, Fig. 61, demands more thought and 


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subtler handling than is required in absolute symmetry. 


THEORY. 69 


This may be developed by substituting for somewhat 
rigid symmetrical arrangement of strict similarity the free 
play of fancy agreeable both to the mind and eye, Fig. 62. 
But undue variation is apt to result in confusion and 
disorder; thus one side only of a design should not be 
filled up to the entire exclusion of the other; some 











































































































































































































































































































































































































Fig. 63.—FANCY. 


appropriate device, however small, should be thrown in 
to avoid the appearance of incompleteness, Fig. 63. 
Chinese and Japanese art is frequently unsymmetrical ; 
lateral balancing of parts, due harmony, and proportion 
of masses being purposely discarded.* Hence close 


* The same may be said of the vocaz/le style of Louis XV., 
which, though not plastically like Japanese art, is marked by su h 
an utter ab ence of symmetry, that it would not be tolerated but 
{or the spirit and skill of its execution. Hence the student should 
first thoroughly master those art productions which are marked by 
a principle of symmetry; this done, reference to a more erratic 
style will form a useful and fitting supplement to his knowledge. 


70 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


imitation of Japanese work is not to be recommended ; 
despite great merit both as regard finish of execution and 
exquisite natural rendering, its faulty composition cannot 


Coy, 


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Fig. 64.—VARIETY. 


be overlooked. For instance, flowers, fruit, birds, or 
figures, are scattered haphazard on forms, without regard 
to curved surfaces, or edges defining plans, showing an 


THEORY. 71 


absence of symmetry not compensated for by qualities of 
make, however excellent these may be. 

By Japanese art, we do not mean the cheap products 
which have glutted our markets, and are to be seen in 
shops and in many private houses, which, though disclos- 
ing much productive skill, have little else to recommend 
them. And if this is true of the green tree, what shall 
be said of the dead tree; of second and third-rate 
imitations of Japanese pots and pans; Japanese textile 
fabrics, redeemed by none of the charm and grace of the 
originators? True, we tolerate the commonplace produc- 
tions of the seventeenth century, but that is because 
we are forced into something like admiration for the 
consummate knowledge displayed by the artist, in the. 
dexterous handling and just harmony of his composition, 
qualities conspicuous by their absence in Japanese art. 


PRINCIPLE OF SIMPLICITY. 


BESIDES symmetrical arrangement as opposed to an 
irregular or unsymmetrical one, there are other principles 
which we must now consider; the first of which is 
simplicity. The principle of simplicity is the chief 
feature of all early art, and is mainly dependent upon 
another simple element for its decorative effect, the 
horizontal line. This is very well seen in Egyptian 
temples, in Assyrian, Doric, Roman, and early Gothic 
structures of all countries, marked by great simplicity of 
treatment. Good illustrations are afforded in the 
cathedrals of Winchester and Salisbury, Westminster 


72 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


Abbey, and many other buildings, wherein simple forms 
and details are conspicuous features. Simplicity of 
treatment imparts a marked character to the buildings to 
which it is applied; hence its frequent occurrence when 





Fig. 65 —SIMPLICITY AND CoMPLEXITY. 


massive importance and dignity are required. Perhaps 
the best examples of this principle are in Early English 
work, notably the churches, which at once strike us by 
reason of their massive and noble proportions. 

If the artist adopts simplicity of treatment, he first 


THEORY. 73 


apportions his design into one or more grand divisional 
sections which may embrace secondary divisions, sub- 
divided in their turn by details; but if his choice should 
fall upon complexity of arrangement, he begins by dividing 
the whole composition into successive parts, each possess- 
ing its particular details. Fig. 65 shows two front bays, 
each having similar dimensions and each pierced with 
smaller bays of like character and disposition, affording 
good examples of these principles. 

The principle of complexity is a development of the 
principle of simplicity. It is met with in the later monu- 
mental works of India, Greece, and China, in the first 
period of French and Italian Renaissance, especially in the 
church of St. Mark at Venice, and the Duomo at Milan. In 
England it is the chief characteristic of Later or Decorated 
Gothic ; Henry VII.’s chapel at Westminster affording a 
good illustration of complexity of treatment and over- 
loading of ornament, not to be found in earlier works. 
Monumental bas-reliefs, mural paintings, tapestry, stained 
glass, flooring, or any large surface, may receive either 
treatment. Both principles are good and useful in their 
different ways, and both may be applied with perfect 
propriety and fitness according to the nature and the 
position of the object decorated. It is clear that an 
object on a level with the eye may be more elaborately 
ornamented than one viewed from a distance, and the 
nobler parts of a building receive greater care than those 
destined for less important uses. More care should be 
bestowed upon the drawing-room, for instance, than upon 
the kitchen. 


74. DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


SECTION IJ.—DIviIsION OF SURFACES. 


THE general forms being duly considered, these should be 
divided and ornamented in leading lines on the face of 
the work, either slightly sunk, flat, or in relief; the inter- 
vening spaces may then be subdivided and filled with 
similar ornament until the whole surface is covered. In 





Fig. 66.—DIVISIONS IN HEIGHT AND BREADTH. 


a rectangular form, in a panel, for instance, such lines will 
be horizontal and vertical ; in round pieces, such as vases, 
small columns, and the like, they will follow the outer 
edge or pattern and the bisection will be horizontal and 
circular ; whilst flat pieces will admit of radiating and con- 
centric divisions, Fig. 66. 

To make our meaning clear, we will call the intervals 
dividing the concentric and horizontal sections “eight 


THEORY. 45 


divisions, and those occurring between the radiating and 
vertical cuts or sections, zzdth divisions. 

The student, having divided the surface to be decorated 
into principal sections, must next consider the kind of 
effect he wishes to produce, and be careful to allow for the 
relative position of all the members, so as to obtain a 
clear, well-proportioned, and harmonious whole. These 
principles, as will be observed, are the same which 
regulate good proportion of form. Hence height divisions 
should only be applied to symmetrical, pentagonal and 


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Fig. 67.—HEIGHT DIVISIONS. 


round forms, or surfaces with rectangular outlines, each 
member or section affording a similar development, Fig. 
67. But if, on the other hand, we had to deal with out- 
lines bulging out and contracting in turn, or surfaces of 
circular and diversified contour, then height divisions 
should be wnxegual, one being treated as the dominant, 
Fig. 68. In obedience to this principle, it is obvious that 
equidistant sections would be faulty if applied on irregular 
forms, a similar repetition, or “repeat,” as it is termed, 


76 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


being out of harmony with the inequality of the corre- 
sponding outline, Fig. 69. 


Fig. 70 illustrates the appropriate section of the 





Fig. 68.—DOMINANT DIVISIONS. 


symmetrical form A, which would be inartistic in form B, 
bulging out towards the top. 

Height divisions may be used in ovoid and conical 
forms, affording gradual regular contractions, of frequent 
occurrence in vases, horns, the outlines of sheaths, and 





Fig. 69.—FALSE EQUALITY. 


the like; but care must be taken to follow the scale or 
gradation of the outline, Fig. 71, whilst width divisions may 
be associated with forms of continuous outlines or rect- 


THEORY. 


angular surfaces, presenting regular or uniform outlines ; 
such an arrangement is seen in circular discs, in panels, 


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Fig. 70 —GOoD AND BAD SECTIONS, 


and other like forms, wherein each member is but a 
repetition of the other, Fig. 72. 

When surfaces are possessed of different heights, or 
jagged outlines, width divisions should be wnegual and 





Fig. 71.—HEIGHT SECTION OF GRADUATED OUTLINE. 


follow the variations of form, Fig. 73. In spiral, serpen- 
tine, or helical forms, presenting circular, flat, or raised 


78 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. : 


surfaces, the bisection is horizontal and vertical, and the 
divisions, although regular, become od/gue or slanting 
and may be treated with great freedom ; but care must be 


taken to make spiral forms converge regularly towards a 





Fig. 72.—WIDTH DIVISION OF UNIFORM OUTLINE. 


common centre, whilst oblique and twisted forms must 

be strictly parallel to one another, Fig. 74. 
Common-sense and the inherent feeling in man of a 

striving after the beautiful, will be the best counsellors in 





Fig. 73.—DIVISION NECESSARILY UNEQUAL. 


the selection of appropriate objects not derived from 
nature, whilst a just apprehension of the fitness of things 
will prevent errors of judgment in the working out of 
forms in materials not properly belonging tothem. From 


RES ST EY SESS 


THEORY. “9 


the foregoing remarks, the student may perceive that orna- 
ment which appropriately divides the surfaces, be it a 
band, fillet, or any other simple device, well applied on 
the object, will at once raise its artistic character. This 
is exemplified in Greek vases, seen in our Fig. 1. Aswe 
observed before, the disregard of the Chinese and Japa- 
nese for any kind of division which may fairly be con- 
sidered as symmetrical is carried so far, that their orna- 
ments are scattered broadcast over the whole surface 





Fig. 74.—OBLIQUE DIVISIONS. 


without consideration for plans or outlines. But it cannot 
be denied that many of their decorative pieces would gain 
in having some band or divisional section, as may be seen 
in vase A, corrected in vase B, Fig. 75. 

In conclusion we would remind the student, that 
whether he adopts a symmetrical, unsymmetrical, or 
alternating mode of ornament, he must above all things 
avoid uncertainty of expression and meaning in the 
division of surfaces, under penalty of violating the true 


80 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


laws of decoration and marring the effect of the composi- 
tion. 


SEcTION IJI].— DIRECTING INFLUENCE. 


Division of surfaces leads naturally up to the principle 





2 PCS, . se 
fig, 75.—Contrast of Undivided and Divided Surface. 


of order which ought to prevail in decorative art, and the 
fitness of ornament to its scale and position. Thus 
square, rectangular, or elliptical forms should be differently 


THEORY. 81 


treated ; ornament appropriate to flat surfaces, if applied 
to ovoid or conical shapes, will lose part of its charm 
and peculiar character from the mere fact of its misplace- 
ment. Hence, it is necessary that the artist should 


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lig. 76.—Appropriate and Fauliy Ornament 


compose and study every decoration in view of one par- 
ticular form, and one only. If we turn to flat surfaces, 
such as rectangular panels, wherein the ornament alone is 
unsymmetrical, we find that the prevailing dimensions 
should be vertical, and the main lines of the decoration 


82 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


and general arrangement run parallel to the leading 
outlines of the panel, exemplified in Fig. 76, a showing 
appropriate ornament, B, faulty. The case would be 
reversed in a panel with horizontal lines, whilst it is 
_ self-evident that a sguware panel having all its sides equal, 
cannot be governed by any directing influence. 
Ornament applied to flat surfaces presenting curved 
outlines should follow their flow, or, at any rate, not 
impede it. Thus the main lines of the decoration of a 
circular or oval piece should be so managed as to avoid 
awkward crossings of the border line, and, by skilful inflec- 
tions, glide in a fangential or parallel direction to the 
outline, except in cases when they follow naturally a 
concentric or radiating direction, and sharply cut the 
border. ‘The Persians, in the floral treatment and com- 
positions of their ceramic vessels, have left models for us 
to imitate, Fig. 77. Had alike balance and harmony of 
form and ornament marked Japanese woi1k, their art 
would be almost perfect. The same principle applies, 
though in a less degree, to human and animal forms, but 
as they cannot be subjected to the same modifications as 
floral ornaments, they will require thoughtful care when 
introduced in narrow fields, in order to avoid ungrace- 
ful postures or encroachment upon boundaries. Many 
examples of medizeval work exhibit figures tortured into 
painful positions from want of consideration to ways and 
means. ‘The Greeks themselves have not always adhered 
to this golden rule, notably in their religious vessels, 
wherein the appearance of figures extending over the 
deeply inflected curve of the neck of the vessel, is not 


THEORY. 83 


proper to the human form, Fig. 83. This error of judg- 
ment was reproduced by ceramists during the Italian and 
French Renaissance, especially the schools of Urbino 
and Nevers. Nevertheless, no one viewing Fig. 84, 
a fine specimen of Rouen strapwork ware, in which 





Fig. 77.-- Persian Treatment of Flowers. 


the principle of the fitness of ornament to the form 
is strictly kept in view, will fail to perceive the superiority 
of the Urbino example, marked by inimitable grace, 
subtlety of colour, purity and richness of design. It 
is a marvel of ceramic art, which, though faulty in 


84 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


construction, may well be held up for our admiration, 
but which should not be rashly imitated by the novice, 
lest his efforts should result in woeful disaster. The 
old Italian medallion, Fig. 78, isa good illustration of 
a subject kept strictly in harmony with the outline. 





Fig. ~8.— Subject tn Harmony with Outline. 


Rustic and picturesque objects, though admitting of 
greater freedom of treatment, must likewise be conceived 
with reference to the form they are to decorate, Fig. 80; 
whilst shields, covers, medallions, bosses, and fans, in fact 
every form of ornament which may be divided into circular 
bands, should follow the general outline, Figs. 63 and 81. 
Forms in relief present an immense variety of curves and 


THEORY. 8s 


scrolls, yielding great richness of effect, very well seen in 
the shafts of columns, in plinths, and the like, and, owing 
to their close proximity to the spectator, may receive 
elaborate ornament, Fig. 79. Simple curvilineaz surfaces, 
with concave or convex outlines, admit of rich decoration, 
but care should be exercised in the selection of ornament 





Fig. 79. —Ornament suited for near point of View. 


that will readily adapt itself to the irregular outlines of 
the work. 

To make our meaning clear we will take an example. 
Fig. 82 shows a form with a double curve, the lower con- 
vex and the upper concave answering to the cyma reversa 
of classic architecture, on which a spiral device a has 


86 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


been applied. It is seen at a glance that the ornament, 
good in itself, has become bad simply because it is applied 
to the wrong form ; but if a device affording in its outline 
a distinct analogy with the outline, as in section B, had 
been chosen, the application would at once seem natural 


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fig. 80.—Rustic Ornament. 


and appropriate. The same may be said of subjects 
applied to a section with leading vertical outlines, pos- 
sessed of inflections in harmony with the form. These 
assist in bringing it out and emphasizing it. The orna- 
ment met with in narrow partitions, such as fillets, is 
necessarily simple in character and affords hardly any 


THEORY. 87 


scope for bad section. Small mouldings, such as the 
ovolo, bead, jewel, and the like, very delicate in their 
curvature, are found throughout classic and Renaissance 
art, whilst minute patterns are largely introduced in 
scores of antique vases. The cause of their universal 
acceptance is to be sought for in their adaptability to every 





Fig. 81.—Ilnartistic and Artistic Application of Ornament. 


form, and their easy reproduction. ‘Thus the ovolo (egg) 
will fit a quarter round; the ogee, the cyma recta, the | 
double spiral, any hollow groove, civetto, or otherwise ; 
whilst the outlines of anti-spirals will suit flat cornices, 
Fig. 85; and sectional mouldings, such as the billet, 


the cable, bead, plait, chasing, etc., will fit every form, 
Fig. 86. 


88 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


Objects observed in nature, such as the peculiar habits 
and the dress of foreign people, etc., are sometimes intro- 
duced into decoration, and are always well received 
because they are easily understood and appeal to the sense 
of observation in the beholder ; such are floral, fruit, and 


Bad Good 





fig. 82.—Suitable and Unsuitable Ornament Jor Curved 
Surfaces. 
verdure wreaths ; stems tied into fasciz : plaits, olive ber- 
nes, pendents simulating looped-up drapery, and the 
like, Fig. 87, whilst leaves, owing to their natural grace 
and richness of outline, have been largely employed from 
the earliest times. The Egyptians with true instinct 
chose, not strange plants they knew nothing about, 


THEORY. 89 


but the acanthus, the lotus, papyrus, and the other native 
plants of free growth always to be found on the banks 
of the Nile. Laurel, oak, and parsley leaves, on the 
other hand, are of frequent occurrence in all classic and 





Fig. 83.—Inartistic Inflection of Figure. 


modern art, whether on architecture, ceramic, wood, or 
metal-work. 

Bands are introduced on vessels in order to avoid 
undue redundancy of form, and to invest them at the 
same time with an appearance of solidity. This impor- 
tant principle was never absent from the Greek or 
Etruscan artist’s mind, and is also well remembered 
in most work of our own days. It need hardly be 


go DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


said that their application on. retreating forms would be 
most incongruous. The lower portions of objects tao, 
are often ornamented with devices of great variety and of 





fig. 84.—Rouen Strapwork Ware. 


pleasing effects, which have an appearance of affording 
support to such objects, Fig. 89. Sometimes the form is 
very minute, sometimes it is merely a reticulated veil, and 
sometimes it resembles a basket in which the vessel is 


THEORY. gt 


placed. Ina word, the whole storehouse of nature, as well 


Ovolo. 


Ogee. 


Double 
spire. 


Anti-spire. 





fig. 85. Mouldings. 


as man’s products, are open to the artist, but he must not 


92 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


forget that ornament is an accessory and is to be used to 
enhance the beauty of form, but never to hide or stultify it. 





fig. 87.- Forms suggested by Nature, &c. 


SECTION IV.—OptTICAL ILLUSIONS. 


THE soundest eye is subject to errors of vision, com- 
monly known under the name heading this chapter, one 
of which we will now notice as affecting decorative 
composition. A very simple example will suffice to make 


THEORY. 93 


che subject perfectly plain. Here are two rooms of equal 
height and dimensions; horizontal and flowing forms 





fig. 88.—Horizcntal Lands applied to Form. 
are freely introduced in the wall paper of No. 1, whilst 


perpendicular lines are marked features of No. 2. Every- 
one will feel the difference of the two rooms, for whereas 





fig. 89.—Ornament giving an Appearance of Support. 


the first will seem low and oppressive, the other will 
appear lofty and airy, because in the first instance the 


94 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


eye travels from each successive section, in the latter it is 
carried over the whole extent of the vertical line. Hence, 
when it is wished to reduce the height of an object, hori- 
zontal or oblique lines should be employed, and per- 
pendicular lines when height is required. ‘This is well 
understood by upholsterers, decorators, and milliners, 
who, by the simple exchange of forms, can elongate or 
give breadth to the work in hand, Fig. 65. 

The repetition of oblique lines, parallel to one another, 


WAM 





produces a warped, slanting impression, well exemplified 
in the three vases, Fig. 90. We mightalso cite a certain 
class of so-called Oriental edifices, such as the spiral, 
gadrooned, bulb-like domes of Russian churches and 
twisted Roumanian steeples. But oblique or slanting 
lines have so obviously a feeble appearance, that forms 
like the serpentine, spiral, etc., should be used sparingly, 
as apt to create weariness and a feeing of unrest if per- 
sisted in. Oblique lines, moreover, when covering a 


THEORY. 95 


surface of any length, should not be left to themselves; 
vertical and horizontal forms, or details in which these 
elements form the chief feature, should be introduced 
as a framework, thus investing the composition with 
Strength and solidity. The finials met with throughout. 








Arabian. 


Fig. 91.—Examples of the proper use of Form, 


Hellenic, Roman, and Italian Renaissance architecture 
show that their designers paid attention to this principle ; 
the Arabs were equally careful to introduce inverted 
angular forms in the roof of their edifices, whilst the 
absence of similar details on the gabled buildings of the 


96 THEORY. 


Middle Ages produces an appearance of incompleteness, 
Fig. 81. The knobs found at one or both ends of the 
banisters are due to the same principle. 

A curious effect may be observed in geometric figures 
composed of a number of parallel lines by simple change 
of position one to another, producing combinations of so 
different a character as to seem scarcely possible that 
they have been formed out of the same material, Fig. $2. 
The Arabs, at little cost of mental effort, it must be 








fig. 92.—Geometrical Ornament. 


admitted, are very ingenious in evolving most complex 
and elaborate ornament out of simple geometric forms; 
but these sink into a subordinate place as we rise higher 
and make flowers and animals the chief feature of the 
ornament. 

When the form is divided into squares, particular 
attention should be exercised in drawing the outline with 
great precision and accuracy; its natural form should 
be so apparent as to need no testing with the compass. 
Prominent features in the inner ornament should be 


THEORY. 07 


discarded as interfering with the general effect; hence 
art-subjects, A, B, C, Fig. 93, will be appropriate in equi- 
lateral rectangles, and F, G, H will work well in squares 
The angles of square forms or panels are generally fur- 
nished with ancones, knobs, and the like, to set off their 
natural outline; but if the repetition only occurred at two 
of the angles their character would be destroyed, Fig. 94; 
albeit, they would harmonize with the irregular contour 
of rectangular forms. * 

This principle does not impede the freedom of action 
of the ornamentist; it serves rather to show the resources 





Fig. 93.—Ornament suitably treated in Squares. 


placed at his disposal and the consequences resulting 
from different arrangements. The appearance of form is 
so deeply modified by interior and exterior ornament, 
that we might almost say that it only possesses the propor- 
tions it seems to have. Be that as it may, we hope to have 
convinced the student of the importance of preserving its 
distinct and entire value. 


V.—STRAIGHT AND CURVED LINES. 


as these form the sole element of ornamentation it will not 


* Diversity of inner subjects need not be observed in such panels 
occurring in ceilings, wainscoting, etc., because the forms being 
contiguous set off one another, notwithstanding the repetition of 
identical general outune. 


98 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


be deemed superfluous if we try to show in what propor- 
tions they enter decorative work. In principle it is not 
easy to understand how the use of one could be adopted 
to the entire exclusion of the other; since curves alone 
would produce a plastic, soft appearance, unsatisfactory 





Fig. 94.—Decided and Undecided Squares. 


to the mind and eye. Hence filleted, moulded entabla- 
tures, encirclings, or set borders, should have their length 
of straight lines relieved by some curvilinear detail, 
yielding variety and softness of aspect, Fig. 95. Short, 
straight lines of different direction, slanting or perpen- 





CUEUPT Eee 


(A) 





Fig. 95.—Straight Lines combined with Curves, and singly. 


dicular, would, indeed, do this, but would fail to remove 
their ngid character (see design in Fig. 95 marked 4). If, 
on the contrary, the decoration consisted of a series of 
flowing lines, concentric and parallel to one another, fre- 
quently met with in vaulted or double-faced arches and 


THEORY. 99 


circular-headed portals, the introduction of straight forms 
would be of excellent effect, Fig. 96. 

The multitudinous concentric or double-faced arches 
and archivolts of Romanesque and Anglo-Norman archi- 
tecture would be objectionable, had not the builders 
relieved the monotony of identical lines by enrnched 
mouldings extensively introduced in the chancels, door- 
ways, etc. Windows of this kind may be studied in the 
cathedral of Peterborough, the Chapter House of Bristol, 
and many more. Straight lines are the supporting prin- 
ciple of the general structure ; to them are due columns, 





fig. 96.—Combination of Curves and Straight Lines. 


lintels, imposts, cross-bars, pedestals, etc., and upon these 
rest the more flexible and graceful curved lines, forming 
arches, circular headings, medallions, pendants, roses, 
and scrolls of every kind. 

Fig. 97 shows two mirrors, with an oval border 
round the glass, capped by finials and scrolls, whilst 
scallops and termini occupy the lower portion. a, an 
imitation of the Regence style, consists of curvilinear 
forms ; B, on the other hand, is a pleasing combination 
of straight and curved lines. It will be readily admitted 
that construction B is superior to construction A. 


100 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


This principle might be applied to furniture, bronzes, 
decorative panels, and the like, wherein details, often of 
high quality, look incongruous, because they are unsup- 
ported by a rectilinear element. This want of construc- 
tion is very apparent in the vocaille style of Louis XV., 
whilst the compositions of Louis XVI., despite common- 
places in some of their details, are always well balanced 





fig. 97.--Curvilinear Forms pure, and tn combination with 
Straight Lines. 


and of pleasing effect. A nice combination of straight 
and curved lines is found in Italian Renaissance, Ghi- 
berti’s doors of the Baptistery in Florence being a con- 
spicuous example. In England the “ Early decorated ”’ 
affords many noble specimens, both in churches and 
buildings, in which proportion and just balance of the 
two elements are observed. Persia is another instance 


THEORY. 101 


where great—perhaps too great—a use of straight lines is 
employed, as settings for ornament in structural work ; 
whilst it forms the basis of all Arabian art, be it in 
ceilings, wainscotings, windows, doorways, or the like. 
Polygonal and stellate forms, disposed at stated intervals, 
are sometimes introduced to relieve monotony; and the 
latter, owing to their numerous points, produce at a dis- 
tance the appearance of repetition of circles, affording 
enrichment and great variety, which may be increased 
when roses, scrolls, inscriptions, etc., are used, their 
elegant curvatures investing the whole with finish. 

From the foregoing remarks it is seen that decoration 
to be attractive must be possessed of variety ; therein lies 
the secret charm which attaches to a large proportion 
of Classic, Medizyval, and Renaissance art, marked by 
careful selection of geometric, floral, and zoomorphic 
subjects. The ideal is reached when the human form is 
introduced, either in painting, architecture, or sculptured 
work. The eye is an exacting organ, requiring strong 
and subdued contrasts to relieve monotony ; 2.e. subjects 
placed in juxtaposition, some of which may be viewed 
from a distance, whilst others will bear closer inspection. 


VI.—SIZE AND PROPORTION IN DECORATION. 


THERE is another principle of the utmost importance in 
decorative art which we must now consider at some 
length. Before doing this, however, it will not be deemed 
irrelevant if we warn the beginner that decorative scale, 
as it is sometimes called, must not be confounded with 


102 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


scale of proportion, by means of which a design may be 
reduced or enlarged almost to any extent, whilst rigorously. 
preserving the relative dimensions of the various members, 
and which is familiar to every artist ; whereas decorative 
proportion, like everything exclusively pertaining to art, 
is far more complex in character, and embraces the 
whole decorative scale, and should be determined by the 
size and position of materials at command, its general aspect, 
as well as with reference to man’s stature. 

Art is created by man and for man; of this we see 
indications everywhere: in the steps, pews, lecterns, and 
pulpits of churches, where, no matter what the dimensions 
of the building, be it Westminster Abbey, York Minster, 
or a small country church, their average size is appre- 
clably the same. In like manner the chairs, tables, and 
cabinets of our houses, the books we read, the carriages 
in which we drive, the umbrellas, fans, etc., we carry, are 
all proportionate to our use and size. As resulting from 
the principle, when faithfully carried out, that the com- 
ponents of a drawing or plaque must be proportionate 
to the unit, it will not be difficult to determine the 
approximate dimensions of the work presented for in- 
spection. Thus, Fig. 98 shows two arches with an 
appearance of equal height, but where the relative size 
of the balustrades indicates a notable difference in the 
real dimensions of each. 

Objects of ordinary use should be made beautiful and 
useful; for a thing, however lovely, if it is unpleasant to 
use will be set aside, even for one less beautiful, and thus 
fail in its purpose. Therefore, the hilt of a sword, the 


THEORY. 103 


handle of a screen or ewer, should be so formed as to fit 
the hand which is to use them. 

All the objects of larger dimensions in Fig. 99 have 
been purposely represented smaller ; but notwithstanding 
this inversion they maintain their superiority of size, and 
indicate that they were executed in view of the human 
hand. 

The size of the materials is another way for testing the 










ROSASICIONE ES) 
Eas 








fig. 98.—Arches of apparent Equality of Scale whose Balus- 
trades indicate relative Dimensions. 


dimensions of an object. Given two buildings with bricks 
showing externally, it will be easy to determine the 
relative proportions of the structures by counting the 
number of courses. In like manner the number of 
panels of a door or wall, despite the diversified latitude 
of the woods employed, will indicate the probable 
measure of their dimensions. 

Another principle, scarcely less important, consists in 
so ordering a decorative composition that its primary 


104 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


designs may be viewed at the distance required for 
embracing the whole at a glance, and which we will cali 
normal distance, because it is instinctively adopted by 
every beholder.* So that if to get a good view we are 
not perpetually obliged to shift our position backwards 
and forwards in order to read the details or judge of the 
general effect, the amplitude of ornament will not be 
proportioned to the dimensions of the work, but to the 








Noa Ae iy 


fig. 99.—Objects whose real Scale ts apparent. 


normal distance. The object to which ormament is 
applied must determine its character; thus a necklace, 
locket, bracelet, or small furniture, meant for close 
inspection, admits of elaborate enrichment and finish; 
whilst panels, vases, tables, chairs, etc., which are seen 

* Within this mean distance the eye sees the designs one by one, 
and’ beyond it they disappear into indistinct masses. Exception is 


not made of short-sighted or long-sighted people, as such infirmities 
are corrected by glasses. 


THEORY. 105 


at a certain distance, may be less ornamented and ona 
larger scale. 

The ornamentation of a dessert-plate, for instance, 
should be on a smaller scale than that of a decorative 
plate, which is to hang on a wall and be viewed from a 
certain distance, although both may be of the same 
dimensions. Respecting plates, Dr. Dresser says : 
“Little ornament should be placed in the centre; but if 
there is a central ornament it should be radiating in 
character. The border should also consist of simple 
members repeated, for if portions are covered it will not 
look well. Ornament that has a nght and wrong way 
upwards should be avoided, for it would be inappropriate 
in such a position.” But the scale of ornament should 
be increased for wall-papers, stained-glass, or architectural 
decorations, which are destined to be viewed at a greater 
distance, whilst the proportion of interiors should be less 
than that of exteriors. In monumental] buildings of great 
altitude, the ornament, whether painted, sculptured, or in 
bas-relief, must increase from the base to the top, as the 
details of the upper portions will only be seen from a 
very great distance; well exemplified in the frieze which 
stood round the Parthenon at Athens, portions of which 
are now in the British Museum. As offshoots of this 
principle there are some curious points which we will 
now notice. A certain class of compositions, presenting 
circling lines, multitudinous divisions, and profusion of 
details, executed without reference to the human scale, 
always imply somewhat larger proportions than those 
which are more simply treated, Fig. 100. Nevertheless, 


106 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


every large composition need not be complicated, nor 
details multiplied in the same ratio as the former; on the 





fig. 100.—Contiasted Effect of Ornament on Objects not refer- 
rable to Human Scale. 


contrary, this may be very simple and plain in character, 
















FT CTS TE 

fa cement Tat | at a] Teas, 
& 6m i agi oe ie 
adi 
See 
& 


Dts MANIDYS 





Cetra vig 





. | Fig. 101.—Simple Decoration. 


provided the ornament is always proportioned to it, 
Tig. ro1. Care should also be exercised to maintain the 


LHEORY. 107 


relative proportions existing in nature, and which are 
essential in a picture, bas-relief, etc., where human 
figures, animal and floral forms, and inanimate objects 
must all be proportioned to one another. 

When a composition is uniform, z.c. undivided, as a 





fig. 102.—Admrissible Variety in Proportion. 


single panel, the border of a plain surface, etc., unity of 
arrangement should be the rule 2 bute the work. 1s 
divided into distinct parts, such as a frieze, decorated 
shutters, vases of multiform belts, a tripartite panel, 
medallion, and the like, the proportion may vary for 
each of them, Fig. 102. Similar variety of arrangement 


108 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


is of constant occurrence in most compositions present- 
ing wide borders, Fig. 41. 

The principle of complexity may also exist with 
objects formed of various materials, such as bronze, 
ivory, and wood, all of which may be of different size ; 





fig. 103.—Relative Proportions of truncated and whole Figures. 


but the ornament of works of one or two colours only 
should be subdued and far less elaborate than that of 
multi-coloured compositions ; truncated subjects also, 
such as busts, thermee, lion muzzles, bull and chimeras’ 
heads, masks, and the like, either carved or painted, 


THEORY. 109 


should not be given the same measure as whole figures 
or flowers of natural growth introduced into the same 
work (Fig. 103). 

In order to secure clearness and harmony for the 
whole composition, small objects should receive.simple 
treatment, and relative complexity reserved for larger 
details ; in other words, simplicity of ornament should 
accompany diminutive forms, so as to avoid puerile 
minutize or a confused and blurred aspect. 

Exceptions are made for a certain class of decorative 





Figs. 104, 105, 106.—Szmple Symbolic Ornan.ent. 


elements introduced as accessories in a composition ; 
thus the sun, the moon, the stars, prows, masts, as well 
as guns figuring in military trophies, are generally much 
reduced as compared to anchors, pullies, harpoons, and 
rigging with which they are associated, and which retain 
their natural proportions, whilst no difference is made 
between the size of fortified towers and simple martlets. 
The reason for this arbitrary difference is two-fold, and 
doubtless first arose from the impossibility of giving them 
all a like degree in the same work, and also from their 


IIo DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


symbolic character, which allows the greatest freedom of 
treatment, fully exemplified in old Bibles and missals 
(Figs. 104, 105, 106), 

Enlargement may also be resorted to, but for reasons 
of another kind: thus, as the ornament of minute objects 
would often entail great difficulties of fabrication, certain 
details are enlarged to make the subject clear. This is 
seen in numbers of ancient coins, exhibiting proportion- 
ally much larger dimensions than the human form, 
Fig. 107. But such emblems should always be isolated 
and at some distance from the 
figures, for if they come in con- 
tact their dimensions would be 
incongruous. ‘The ancients car- 
ried this license very far in their 
glyptics, where human heads are 
kept larger than is legitimate, so 





Fig, 107.—Enlurged as to make the features more 

Subject, distinct. In like manner, but 
from mere adulatory reasons, the principal characters 
of decorative compositions have been purposely given 
larger proportions than those with whom they are 
associated. This is well exemplified in Assyrian and 
Egyptian bas-reliefs, portions of which are in the British 
Museum, in which Sennacherib, Ramses, or Seti tower 
far above the grandees by whom they are surrounded. 
With the Greeks this is also observable, although in a 
less degree; thus, in the Laocoon and the Niobe 
groups, the father and mother respectively are invested 
with gigantic statures ; in the latter case, Niobe is not 


THEORY. III 


only taller than the tallest of her sons, but also taller 
than the long-bearded and _ well-proportioned — tutor. 
There is no doubt that this mode has the advantage of 
securing both clearness of aspect and monumental out- 
line so essential in decorative compositions. 

More examples might be adduced, but these will 
suffice to illustrate the principle, and to show the 
direction in which the student can open out for himself 
new fields for observation; whether in Pagan or early 
Christian work, notably Byzantine, or ir sculpture, bas- 
reliefs, painting, coins, and, in fact, throughout the whole 
range of art production. We do not mean to imply that 
similar license should be maintained in its integrity; it 
was not only justifiable but right in the early stages of 
art. But as with civilisation so with art also: as it 
progresses and rises higher, the laws governing its 
production become more stringent and severe, so that 
the artist should strive more and more to clothe his 
pictorial conceptions with a truthful and harmonious 
reflex of the manifestation observed in nature and around 
him, basing his mode of action upon a superabundance 
of exemplars both in the past and the present day. 

Reduction is sometimes applied to secondary details 
to gauge the proportion of the subject. The size of a 
large, single figure, for example, may be indicated by its 
accessories, which should be minute, clear, and well 
defined. It was in obedience to this principle that 
Pheidias represented the whole conflict between the 
Centaurs and the Lapithz round the sole of the sandals 
of his oe of Pailas-Athene. 


It2 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


UE {Ne [EZ 


It may be interesting 
to note that no deco- 
= rative subject can be 
Coe CAT Mme reduced or enlarged in 

= notable —_ proportions, 

without part of its 
character being  de- 
stroyed; hence, the 
minute details of statues 
and other art-objects, 
reduced by mechani- 


a Na 


| 


= ha i ii 
=| Hi ith i 

JA A cal means, become 
effaced and of no effect 


-when enlarged; whilst 


ANIM 


i 


the reverse takes place 


WML HEL 
Pedal 


| | |! 
Fig. 108.—-Proportional Ornament in Panels of different Dimensions. 


when summary details 
are elongated, resulting 
in lifeless and common 


TENT 


a 


expression. 


i 
(7 


il 
iyi 
' 





To make our mean- 
ing somewhat clearer, 





we will suppose that we 





Em, 


are going to decorate a 
large room with a series 
of panels, no matter 
whether mosaic, painted, 








Te or carved, all of the 
same height but of 
different width, Fig. 108, 














ni 


! : 


en | The first thing to con- 
saa Hh sider is the nature of 





TTEORY. 113 


the room, and being satisfied that the ornament of the 
panels, to be in harmony with it, must be uniform in 
character, we select No. 2 of the series, which from its 
medium size will best serve as a type and adapt itself 
almost anywhere. The ornament consists of two half- 
circles and a similar number of nodules, the centre being 
occupied with a fleur-de-lis and a nbbon knot. 

The next thing is to find out how to place this design 
in the other panels without destroying the character and 
harmony of the composition. For example, let us select 
Panel 1: we at once see that the arrangement we have 
chosen as a type cannot very well fit the space allotted to 
it, and that it would appear, moreover, out of place and 
infringe upon the sides of the background. We may not 
reduce it, for that would alter its proportions ; but if we 
maintain the characteristic details, such as the ribbon, 
fleur-de-lis, and nodules, in their integrity, we may sup- 
press the circles, and then the design will fit the frame. 

We now pass on to No. 4, where the design, being too 
large for the ground, leaves the sides bare; but as we 
may not alter its proportion, we are only left the choice 
of repeating the design, adding a detail for the centre. 

Next comes No. 3, the largest of all, where the 
preceding device, although very much developed, is 
insufficient to fill up the surface; hence a special 
arrangement which shall unite the two devices and 
maintain the nature of the subject becomes necessary. 
To this may be added some interesting details ; for 
example, a label, crown, and ribbon knot. 

We have one more panel, No. 5, which, owing to its 


114 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


narrow dimensions, will require greater subtlety of ar- 
rangement in order to preserve harmony of proportion, 
as here the type-device cannot possibly fit the space even 
if reduced to the simple expression of No. 1. To leave 
it alone would be one way of solving the difficulty, and 
not a bad way either, small surfaces being often left 
bare to set off enriched ones; but in this case a similar 
treatment might argue poverty of invention; we proceed, 
therefore, by still greater simplification of type-device, 





fig. 109.—Proportional Ornament on Panels of Different 
Dimensions. 


and succeed in preserving to this Liliputian panel some 
reflex of the unit. 

In principle, abstract subjects should receive very simple 
treatment, whilst floral, animal, and especially the human 
form, require greater subtlety of arrangement when in- 
troduced in a composition. Thus, if a series of panels of 
different size were to be decorated with wreaths, brackets, 
masks, leafage, etc., the form could not well be too 
simple, and by adopting the same method as before would 
result in Fig. 109. But if analogy both of dimension and 
relief in the details, analogy of space division and identical 


FHEOLRY. IIS 


disposition of the subjects were presented in a series of 
panels of equal size, then greater freedom would be 
allowed in the form of ornament, Fig. r10. Great care 
must be exercised too, in reducing the human figure, so 
as not to give it a cramped position ; hence, if the space 
is too small for the whole form, a bust or cameo might 


% 


G 
” 


Da 


























rom /Ale 
a=\ == 
we; = 
BE a 
: | a Ee EE) 
; S fe E 
5 ef 
/ S| 
kL = mi 
EF iE 
iE aia 
is ae 
E BIE 
Fe 2 | 
=| BE 16 EE I 
Isat aa BE DAG |e =e 
—r= mS = ee ae pees eg = ta 
Al= Sea l= bie _| BIS 





fig. 110.—Different Forms applied to Panels of same Size, 


o 


be substituted with advantage. In cases, however, 
where it is necessary to maintain the whole, a youth or a 
child may be thrown in, whose proportion being the same 
as would be given to an adult in that position will indi- 
cate enlarged scale; whilst a bird may be replaced by a 
butterfly, or a simple gnat, thus securing proportion and 
satisfactory aspect for the whole work. 


116 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


Conformably to the principle of unity of proportion, it is 
self-evident that the same ornament must not be applied 
to borders of afferent width forming part of the same 
composition ; nevertheless, without altering the nature of 
the ornament, some details might be omitted or super- 
added, resulting in agreeable effect, Fig. 111; in which 
the upper designs, while suited to the widths represented, 
would have a bad effect if reduced to suit the widths of 
the lower designs. For equilateral, triangular, ovoid, or 
conical forms, gradually fining into a point, the details 





fig. 111.—LProportion of Ornament to Width. 


should be proportionate to the general outline; ze. sim- 
plified from the base to the top, Fig. 113. The Greeks 
and Graco-Romans are our masters in the art of propor- 
tioning their ornament to the size of their vases; the 
neck exhibiting very delicate foliated scrolls, repeated 
with adjunctions on the body; the chief characteristics 
of the ornament being maintained throughout, Fig. 112. 
This important principle is too often neglected in archi- 
tecture, and conspicuous by its absence in all art in- 
dustries. Thus, we daily see different mouldings applied 


SMLOR Y. 


Ny’ Awl Vy 


fig, 112.--Proportion of Ornament to Vase. 


on members o: the same furniture ; 





and different pro- 


118 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


portion given to the various pieces of a breakfast or 
dinner service ; whilst a little care could so easily remedy 
such unpleasing faults. In like manner, the earrings, 
necklace, brooch, or bracelet of a set must have identical 
details, which may be enriched with additional designs, 
but without altering their dimensions. } 
To sum up, if the student will adhere to the rules laid 





fig. 113.—L£roportion of Ornament to General Outline. 


down in this chapter, he will secure that good aspect and 
harmony so essential in decorative composition. 


VII.— VARIATION AND REPETITION. 


Ir we could take up successively the details of a com- 
position, we should find that the principle advocated in 
the chapters treating of proportion, profile, and outline, are 
applicable to details presenting characteristic forms. We 
will limit ourselves, however, to the cofisideration of the 


> 


LHEORY, 119 


laws governing them, and notably in what degree repeti- 
tion or variation is desirable in a given composition. 















Ya | 
‘es 


Sli esa WT TNs 
JE RBI GER 









nial Cs, 


mead = Th 
oe Me eT! 


re = 


ee 


—— 
= 


Syy 
a 


SS 
oe 


Pe ee et 
Weg 








. 114.—Repeated Ornament; Artistic and Inartistic 
Arrangements. 


Ornament repeated at similar distances is set off and 
emphasized by intervering spaces differing in size from 





il 


\ 


Ren Oa & CREA PA PAPA Ae 


IA POA HAMA 
=) $a oS) yaar Sy 1 WN) eS 


















































A 
fig. 115.—Alternation of Fillets of different Character. 





it as much as possible. Sometimes richness of effect is 
obtained by diversified forms of ornament in juxtaposition ; 


120 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


such as Greek and Roman modillions and dentels, of far 
better aspect than Byzantine forms distributed at long in- 
tervals, Fig. 114 ; sometimes by alternating enriched fillets 





Fig. 116.—Inartistic Decoration: Analogy of Details. 


with plain, Fig. 115. But no matter how complete the 
scheme of ornament the artist selects he must keep well in 
view the important fact that primary subjects should be 


as 


cg 





brought out, and their characteristic features emphasized 
so as to render similarity or analogy of aspect in details of 
different nature, even at a distance, impossible. Fig. 116. 


THEORY. 121 


Panels of one centre or vertical line should not have 
ornament repeated in an upward and transverse direction, 
but such ornament would be legitimate in panels of two 
centres, Fig. 117. 

Upward and symmetrical ornament can only be 








rg. 118.—l/mproper Repetition of Ornament. 


applied on a rounded form, when this is likewise 
symmetrical, ze. presents a similar surface; whilst 
identical detail should not be placed in works of 
different form and modelling, such as the centre and 





fig, 119.—Artistic Repetition of Ornament. 


border of a plate, the neck and body of a vase, the 
frame. and handle of a mirror, the foot and back of 
an arm-chair, etc., Fig. 118; but repetition would be 
right on the parts of the same surface; for example, 


122 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


a plate-border, the neck, body, or foot of vessels, and 
also on a certain class of symmetrical forms of vertical 
direction, Fig. 119. 

If, however, the composition afforded isolated objects, 
an ewer and its basin, for example, or detached pieces of 
the same set, they should be united by repetition of one or 


more designs; as in this case, similar repetition would in 
no wise be opposed to the principle we advocate. False 
analogies have, moreover, this disadvantage, that they. 
reveal poverty of imagination, and result in monotony. 





aed ean 


Fig, 120.—Contrast of Monotunous and Varied Decoration. 


Such would be a decorative panel where classical scrolls 
and strapwork, differing somewhat in detail, but exhibit- 
ing uniformity of aspect, should be repeated throughout, 
Fig. 120. And here, we may warn the student to guard 
against the abuse of volute terminals on trusses, capitals, 
and the like, which he will, unfortunately, too often see 
around him. A volute or spiral is a decorative element 
at once elegant and easily manufactured, but it fails in its 
purpose if employed without discrimination. 

The grave misapprehension of ill-understood analo- 
gies 1s frequently met with in monumental facades, the 





THEOR Y. 123 


cabinets of the Renaissance and those of the Middle 
Ages affording unequal parts ; where caryatides, chimeras, 
and saints of almost identical position are superimposed 
with utter disregard as to their unfitness and incongruity. 

The necessity of variation is even felt throughout the 
same detail not requiring continuous and uniform size, 
hence the ou¢/ine of wreaths, scrolls, ribbon-knots, and the 
like should be as varied as possible, Fig. 121, in which the 





fig, 121.—Examples of the Effect of good Variation in Outline. 


designs B are heavy and unpleasing, compared with the 
designs a, albeit their proportion is the same. This 
principle of variation and repetition is applicable to 
reliefs ; thus in details of different nature, ¢-we or coloured 
relief found in sculpture and painting should follow the 
inflections of outlines, and by orderly distribution of 
salient points coloured expression would be secured, well 
seen in A, Fig. r21. We feel that this principle was fully 


124 





fig. 122.—Renaissance Lelief. 


DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


kept in view in the art of 
the Renaissance, exhibiting 
scrolls, ribbons, wreaths, 
clustered fruit and foliage; 
as well as figures, palms, 
escutcheons, etc., often of 
exceeding beauty and nich- 
of effect; subdued 


parts being contrasted by 


ness 


forms standing out in bold 
relief (Fig. 122). 
Repetition is of frequent 
occurrence in nature; for 
example, in the ring of 
petals in the primrose, the 
anemone, the buttercups, 
and a host more; and 
variation may be observed 
in the transition of form in 
the leaves of many plants, 
such as the columbine, the 
fern, etc. ; whilst contrast 
both of form and colour 
may be witnessed in the 
unfolding of the horse- 
chestnut bud, in the scarlet 
and white camellias with 
their green glossy leaves, 
in the yellow stamens of the 


red japonica, the scarlet 


THEORY. 125 


berries and green leaves of the holly—and indeed 
throughout the whole of nature. 


Te Hi i 
r fi 
oa 


Ke qr f i} 


iin en mar) \\ 
Fig. 123.—Hxample of good Early Gothic Work. 





Many late Roman and Byzantine bas-reliefs present 
scrolls, floral, animal and human forms, often of excellent 


Aa 
Mi itt 


wl 
ine " 
a ll my ) 


Fig. 124.—Debased Gothic. 





execution, but they fail to interest us, owing to their 
sameness and want of contrast (see ave, Fig. 60). The 
truth of this principle may be illustrated by the treatment 


™ 


126 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


foliage has received at various epochs: thus the leaf of 


\ y — Ry . AW ae \ AN AS 


VAN 


tS 
y 


ty’ \ 


(4 \ 
( j » 
Ki oe 


Figs. 125, 120.—Contrasted Decoration, and Romanesque Capital. 





the maple divided in bold masses is exceedingly satisfac- 





Fig. 127. — Gothic ieee 


factory when viewed in English Decorated architecture, 





Fig. 128.—Contrasted Decoration. 


where its rendering is marked by truthfulness and tender-- 


THEORY. 127 


ness; whilst on the buildings of the debased Gothic style 
of architecture the gouge or chisel marks too often remind 





== 





us, if that were necessary, of its laboured and unnatural 
appearance, Figs. 123, 124. 

“‘ Contrast,” says a great authority, ‘is as necessary for 
effect in form, quantity of detail, and the position of lines, 
as it is in colour; this is well exemplified in Fig. 125, 





fig. 130.-—Contrasted Decoration. 


wherein contrast is produced not only by reversing the 
unit, but emphasized by variation of colour.” 


128 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


The form of the acanthus, met with throughout the 
monuments of antiquity, the deeply indented leaves of. 
the parsley, those of the fig and oak trees, etc., are 








fig. 13¢.—Ornament not Flexible tn Outline. 


allowed their varied and rich outline and due regard for 
natural growth, at the hands of medieval aitists; that 
this is not the case with Byzantine, Romanesque, or 








. es 
JS es (| 


i) 











\S9 i 
aoe 


‘Ait! 






































Fig. 132.—Ornament not Flexible in Outline. 


English Norman work, the student can see for himself if 
he will compare Fig. 126, a foliate capital of Romanesque 
character, with Fig. 127, from a Gothic church. 


ee ORY, 129 


The naturally flexible outlines of flowers should be 
carefully maintained, as nothing more obnoxious can 
well be imagined than when their mode of treatment is 
stiff, uniform, and rigid, Figs. 131 and 132. Artists 
and skilful sculptors have at all times felt the value of 
contrast, and by a just distribution of contrast, repeti- 
tion, and variation, have secured warm and diversified 
aspect, Figs. 128, 129, 130. 

Exception should be made for flat foliates, interlacing 
and the like, where equality of outline must be followed 





Fig. 133.—Ornament in which Equal Oulline is given 
Lqual Relief. 


by equality of relief; this mode when juxtaposed with 
prominent and modelled subjects is pleasing and satisfac- 
tory, Fig. 133. On the other hand, the calm and digni- 
fied expression of the human figure met with*on the 
monuments of the Egyptians, and which never altered 
during the whole course of their art history, was imposed 
upon them by a powerful priesthood. Did we not know 
that such laws were less stringent with the Babylonians, 
the nature of their bas-reliefs would alone enlighten us. 
With the former the difficulty of working hard mate- 


130 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


rials, such as granite, may have had some influence in 
bringing about reliefs so low as to appear almost flat, 
Fig. 134. 

This mode of treatment was reproduced in France by 


be a ‘a 


a a 


| ~< rth 


ao 


ee 


| 





‘ s aS 























yl ig i 
HN 
: Mig oe i 

(j j 

















































































































































































































































































































Fig. 134.—Egyptian Bas-relief. 


Goujon and his school ; whilst in England Flaxman and 
others, by reverting to earlier and purer methods, did 
much to bring discredit and contempt on the Rocaille 
style, which had originated with France, and thence 
taken strong foothold everywhere. 


THEORY. 131 


There is another class of relief which may be achieved 
by the application of almost flat ornament on to a raised 
ground. ‘The light falling on the space seems suddenly 
to wake up the uneven portions, which reflect back all the 
prismatic colours with truly gorgeous effect. This pecu- 
liar relief is first met with on Byzantine work, and requires 
great subtlety and refinement in its elaboration, Fig. 135. 





fig. 135.—yzantine Relief Ornament. 


We see it also on the armoury, the gold and bronze work 
of the Chinese, in the refoussé brass-work of the Persians 
executed under the influence of Hindu art, as well as 
in the Arabic and Renaissance fabrications, wherein the 
highly polished portions of the raised form are dotted on 
the surface of the work with marvellous effect. The value 
of contrast finds good illustration in Fig. 136, from which 


132 ) DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


it may be deduced that a shield with a plain, flat surface, 
but furnished with central boss and some reliefs sprinkled 
on the border, will be more pleasing than one overloaded 
with bas-reliefs, allegorical figures, scrolls, masks and 





fig. 136.— Contiasled Effect of Sparing and Excessive Relief. 


trophies of equal richness of detail throughout. Many of 
the most famous works of Bellini and his school posi- 
tively lose in effect by the excessive richness of their 
ornamentation. This error of judgment was not com- 
mitted by his fellow countryman Ghiberti in the friezes on 





zon. 


—WMoorish Interlaced Des 


137. 


Fig. 


134 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


the doors of the Baptistery in Florence, nor on those of the 
Baptistery of St. Mark, in Venice, by Sansovino. Casts of 
these remarkable gates may be seen in the South Kensing- 
ton Museum. If we except details of the highest quality, 
Lombard fabrication of the same period will not bear com- 
parison with that of the Tuscan and Venetian schools. 
Ornament is said to have value of colour when it is 
marked by complexity, bnlliancy, and movement, which 
may be obtained by opposing monochrome and subdued 
parts to multicoloured and shaded designs, Fig. 115; 
in which the design to the left is a Perso-Arabic, and that 
to the nght a Moorish example. This important feature 





fig. 138.—Ornament possessing Value of Colour. 


is of easy application on small surfaces; large works, 
however, will tax the powers, the knowledge, and the 
subtlety of arrangement of the artist to the utmost. 

The form of ornament of the Arabs and Moors 
(Alhambra) affords systems of interlacing lines exceed- 
ingly rich and beautiful, yet governed by a principle of 
order banishing any idea of confusion. This is achieved 
by superimposing on flat intricate scroll designs a diver- 
sified and somewhat raised string pattern; over this is 
placed a plain broad ribbon device, of hghter colour 
than the rest, to regulate the composition, and by 
judicious sprinkling of glittering buttons, scarlet buds, 


THEORY. 135 


pomegranate blossoms and escutcheons, they succeed in 
producing work of eminent art quality, Figs. 137, 139. 
The same may be said of the floral Hindu-Persian art, 

















































































































= =—y 























Fig. 139.— Rich Interlaced Design. 


and of that of the Renaissance; whilst the intricate and 
exuberant ornament of Indian work, as well as that of 
late or debased Gothic of all countries, exhibit an excess 
of richness and want of repose which are somewhat 


objectionable. 
7 


136 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


As we have before observed, the law of contrast is 
applicable to plain and enriched mouldings of every form 


ft) Stereos) 


ie 





fig. 140.—Byzantine Sunk and Relief Decoration. 


and design. In exceedingly complicated work this is 
obtained by opposing enriched patterns of different forms, 


THEORY. 137 


frequently met with in compositions of the Byzantine 
period, in which ornament is slightly sunk, flat or in 
Ponereict, iy, 140: The Greeks felt the want of 
contrast when they combined the acanthus and water- 
lily leaf, the former having its foliage much divided, 
whilst the latter is without sections. Adherence to this 
principle is apparent in the art-work of modern times ; 





Fig. 141.—Linear, Flat, and Modelled Ornament. 


notably in the style known as ZLowis Seize, and in the 
productions of Flaxman, Wedgewood, ghe brothers 
Adams, and others. 


Wilk ELATION OF DESIGNS TO KACH OTHER. 


BEFORE we take up the relation of the various forms of 
ornament when juxtaposed to one another, it will not be 
out of place to define the floriated expressions by which 
they are known, Fig. 141. 

Ornament is called “wear when it is expressed by 
simple lines without breadth a; //a/, when indicated by 
parallel lines dividing a plain surface, B; and mode/led, 


138 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


when possessed of vea/ or floriated relief of diversified 
direction, c. These various renderings may be united in 
the same detail. 

The vast stores of nature, as an inexhaustible mine, 
are open to the artist, and from the floral and vegetable 
kingdoms, as also from inorganic objects, he can devise 
forms of exceeding beauty. ‘Thus, besides leaves, flowers, 
buds, fruits and seeds, many of which are of rare excel- 
lence as ornamental forms, yielding innumerable modifi- 
cations of outline, there are objects of less interest, 
such as thread, string, iron bars flattened or twisted, 
ribbons, bands, strips of paper, etc., and the complete 
scheme of modelled ornament, carrying the mind over a 
boundless array of products differing in texture or 
material. Attentive observation of the natural growth of 
floral and vegetable forms will prove a better guide in 
regulating the relation that one design should bear to 
another, than when this is achieved by mere “inward 
consciousness,” » 

Ornament may be accomplished: (1) by curvilinear 
and radiating lines, divided by variously formed spaces, 
united either by intervening or by tangential lines, 
with or without interlacing ; (2) and (3) by crossings and 
intersections. 

In the first case, the ornament should be composed of 
lines flatly treated, as best adapted to the material it 
recalls; whilst with crossing of lines and tangential junc- 
tions, narrow bands and ribbons will be appropnate, Fig. 
142. The junction of tangential lines should be straight 
and well defined over the curvilinear form, and carried 


THEORY. 139 


beyond it ; whilst slanting junctions should be discarded 
as exceedingly obnoxious. Bare angles are frequently 
furnished with small details, and crossing of bands, 
either simulating tying of knots, loops, links, or any forms 


Bes G\" t 7 
° MA : & a) 
Ni SO_AIN_& JTCX LT 


ee 





fig, 142.—LExamples of True and False Functions. 


of binding ; they are valuable as investing the ornament 
with an appearance of solidity, reassuring both to the mind 
and eye, Fig. 143. With regard to the love of all early 
nations for interlacing and woven involution of lines, Mr. 
Ruskin says: “ It is not often that any idea of utility 





Fig. 143.—Good and Bad Tangential Functions. 


has power to enhance the true impression of beauty; but 
it is possible that the enormous importance of the art of 
_ weaving to mankind gives interest if not actual attractive- 
ness, to any type or image of the invention to which we 


140 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


owe our comfort and our pride. But the more powerful 
reason lies in the joy that the human mind has in 
contemplating any kind of maze or entanglement, so 
long as it can discern through its confusion any guiding 
clue or connecting plan. 























Fig. 144.—Scotch Brooch with Interlaced Decoration. 


“We are never tired of contemplating this woven 
interlacing, and that, in some degree, is the secret of 
the sublime pleasure which we have in watching the 
branches of the trees, the intertwining of the grass, 
the tracery of the higher clouds, the fine meshes of the 


THEORY. 141 


robe, the braiding of the hair, and the various glitterings 
of the linked net or wreathed chain. Byzantine orna- 
mentation, like that of almost all nations in a state 
of progress, is full of this kind of work: but it occurs 
most conspicuously, though most simply, in the minute 
traceries which surround their most solid capitals; 
sometimes in a reticulated veil, sometimes resembling 
a basket, on the edges of which are perched birds and 
other animals.” 

Interlacing of lines and narrow bands is of constant 
occurrence in early Irish, Runic, and Anglo-Saxon art, 
both in illumination and carving. Ancient Irish and 
Runic crosses and brooches show beautiful examples of 
interlaced patterns of exquisite make; sometimes the 
pattern is formed by mere lines, alternated with snakes 
and other animals, entwined into endless variety. This 
is well seen in our Fig. 144, showing an ancient Scotch 
dagger, which forms part of one of the ‘ Hunstertan. 
brooches,” with inscriptions in Runic or Icelandic 
characters; as well as in Fig. 145, a magnificent specimen 
from an ancient Inish brooch. 

Interlacing patterns are frequently met with in classic 
and medizval work of all countries, and examples of 
Assyrian and Roman mosaic pavements may be studied 
in the British Museum. ‘The plait or pavera and netting 
patterns are also found throughout the whole range of art. 

Fig. 146 is a series of border arrangements with a band 
more or less diversified, showing appropriate junctions 
A, B, Cc, and obnoxious at D, because the latter junction 
is only effected at one point. When this is the case, the 


142 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


design may be maintained by carrying it under or over 




















eee 


ZR 





Fig. 145.—Irish Brooch with Interlaced Decoration. 


the border or frame, Fig. 147. Nevertheless, if the nature 


THEORY. 143 


of the ornament should recall neither strip or ribbon, but 


was destined to figure in mosaic, marquetry or flooring, 





Fig. 146.—BSorder Arrangements showing True and False 
Junctions of Bands. 


tangential junctions might be resorted to with good 
effect, as owing to the flat position of the form a gliding 
appearance could not be apprehended. 


Fg IRIE 
ee es 
eT 


arr 
wer ZZ Le 


Sree 
es 
SSS 


Sey 





Fig. 147.—Lyzantine Inlaid Design. 


The respective effects of confused and clearly defined 
interlacing will be seen in Fig. 148, in which the supe- 


144 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


riority of the ornament to the left over that to the right 
will be readily apparent. 

In order to avoid acute contacts, false tangential junc- 
tions, confused angles, and uncertain lengths of line, 
the crossing of one form over another should follow a 
direction resembling as near as possible a straight angle, 
Fig. 148. 


Interlacing bands also should imitate hair, cord: or 





Fig. 148.—Contrasted Effect of Well-defined and of Confused 
Interlacing. 


any other plaiting ; z.e. should alternately pass over and 
under the bands in contact. 

This principle is applicable in a less degree to verdure, 
ornament and arabesques ; to modelled details, such as 
plaited ribbons, flowing drapery, palms, wreaths, labels, 
armour, instruments, and even animal and human 
forms, when associated in the same composition, Fig. 
150. Figures 149, 151, 152, 153, are good examples of 
Oriental interlacing work, and though ngidly conven- 
tional in their treatment, yet show their indebtedness to 
nature for their effect. 


THEORY. 145 


\ 
qt 


re . \ 
i , LQ 





Fig. 149.—Oriental Interlaced Ornament. 


We will close this chapter with two more examples of 





Fig. 150.--Complex Modelied Ornament. 


Arabic and Moorish elaborate interlacing, with vivid 


146 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


riywwS 


War My, S \ ye : 


i 


Sik 
% 4 


 \it ! 
Sa | 

‘', y i 
9) 
AN 
bey li 








Fig. 152.—Moorish Interlaced Ornament. 


mented, yet appearing to rise naturally from the circum- 
stances of the case, Fig. 153, 154. 


THEORY. 147 


IX.—ASPECT OF ORNAMENT. 


PURELY imaginative compositions must yet contain 
some degree of probability in their general appearance, 
so as to be acceptable to reason. ‘Thus the wing- 
less figures met with on mural and Pompeian vase paint- 
ings look so natural and well equipoised, that we 
do not stop to inquire by what agency they are able 





Fig. 153.—Arabic Interlaced Ornament. 


to keep their elevated attitude in defiance of the law 
of equilibrium. The same cannot be said of isolated 
Byzantine figures, resting generally on some ground, or 
what is meant to be such, or leaning on one side; 
because they assume an attitude of repose wholly at 
variance with their real position. The flimsiest support 
will satisfy the eye, provided it carries some kind of 
reality with it; either a ground line, or a rectangular 


148 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


slab, of frequent employment in early paintings, Fig. 155. 
Further to illustrate this principle we give Fig. 156, 
representing an Italian decorative plate with a central 
subject of vertical direction. Round the border are 
disposed small figures (pué/i) supporting wreaths and 
labels. As the whole subject is treated conventionally 
and painted in one or two subdued colours, the abnor- 
mal position of the figures, some of them head down- 





G G 
A Uy 
Gy 


Wy tp 
FY 


Yn: 








Fig. 154.—Woortsh Interlaced Ornament. 


wards, and also the wrong way upwards of wreaths, are not 
particularly noticeable ; but were they to receive exces- 
sive modelling and natural colour, they would at once 
become incongruous and exceedingly disagreeable.* 

We will yet take another subject, this time a panel 
created after the second method, exhibiting a central 


* «Ornament on plates, around a cup or vase,”’ says Dr. Dresser, 
‘‘should be such as will not sufler by perspective.” 


THEORY. 149 


figure which stands on a bracket with lateral foliated 
consoles and colonnettes supporting a dais, Fig. 157. No 
one will seek to know the degree of solidity or the mate- 
rials of this composition; we readily admit its fanciful 
character, yet we feel that it might easily become improb- 





fig. 155.—Larly Figure Paintings. 


able if a faint echo of reality were not provided in the 
general balance and proportion of the design. 

Should bracket a, for example, be too small, the 
attitude of the figure would immediately seem constrained 
and unnatural; the case would hardly be improved by 
making bracket 0 larger than proportion will justify. On 
the other hand, if the consoles ¢ were small relatively 


150 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


to the colonnettes, they would appear to bend under the 
weight they support; inversely, their heaviness and 
exaggerated solidity ¢, in proportion to the object 
superimposed, would be made apparent. If the junction 
of the colonnettes be tangential to the volutes and carried 
on in the lower portion by a recall, as in our figure, the 
sense of balance is excellent and satisfactory; but if the 





Fig. 150.—Ltalian Decorative Plate. 


bisections were effected on the slope of the volutes, all 
impression of equilibrium would at once be destroyed. 
In like manner, perfect balance must exist between the 
small columns and the dais; this should be neither 
too large, e, nor too scanty, /, in relation to the figure, 
or the eye will not be satisfied. 

The measure, therefore, to be maintained, and the 


LHEOKYS Ist 


thickness which should be accorded to details, is a 
question not so easily answered, and may be affected 
by the material at command or other considerations. 


PARC Milan MRRt aA KT 


OLA 


vata 


= 
ass 
zd 
ES: 
ze 
2 
= 


SAAN 





Fig. 157.—Laamples of Proportion and Disproportion. 


An intimate knowledge of nature will alone enable the 
student to produce brilliant and ideal works, which shall 
yet be attuned to the dictates of common-sense. 


152 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


X.—PRINCIPLES COMMON TO ORNAMENT, 


SPACE is a feature in ornament which deserves our atten- 
tion, all the more that little or no heed has been bestowed 
upon it, albeit on its surface are disposed the decorative 
designs belonging to the second and third methods. 

After the artist has supplied the primary and secondary 
forms and lines, he should think of the masses of the orna- 
mental scheme and the greater or less maguztude or pro- 
minent strength of colour, together with the relative Zghiness 
or depth the tint must occupy in relation to the space ; 
whether the former should be dark on a light ground, or, 
inversely, the space toned down and sombre in colour ; 
for upon the adoption of one of these methods much of 
the aspect of the composition will depend. 

We mentioned before that a d/ack detail on a white 
ground will appear smaller than a wife one on black 
ground. ‘This curious optic effect is well understood in 
commerce, and large firms, desirous to introduce variety 
in their wall-papers, keep in their employ an artist, 
entrusted with the modification of colours of the same 
plate; but, however skilful such adaptations may be, it 
cannot be expected that all the details will harmonize 
with the general tone of the composition. 

The finest pottery of the Persians is of a white ground, 
with designs in azure blue, and inscriptions in black 
letters, freely drawn and standing out in bold relief. 
The designs on early Greek vases were traced in black on 
alightred or white surface ; and a large proportion of silver 
and ivory work inlaid with niello, the sgragitti or black 


THEORY. 153 


engraving on white glaze of the sixteenth century, were due 
to the same principle. Every one who reads knows how 
much clearer are black letters on white ground than white 
letters would be on a black surface. As springing from 
this principle, light-coloured ornament applied to a dark 
ground is apt to become confused, as part is absorbed, 
especially when the design is very fine and delicate. 

Perhaps the finest specimens of damascening in silver 
applied to black metal, mother-of-pearl inlay on ebony, 
etc., are to be found in India at the present time. The 
outline of Italian majolica of this period was likewise 
traced in black or zaffer blue, shaded off with the latter 
colour, whilst the flesh of the human figure is left white; 
or the borders are ornamented with grotesque designs, 
reserved in white on a dark blue ground, and central sub- 
jects painted ina similar tone; thus testifying to the appre- 
ciation felt by nationalities the most diverse, to the value 
of contrasting one colour with another. The British and — 
South Kensington Museums contain very fine collections 
of these various works. 

Dark borders should be selected in preference to light 
ones; especially when the general tone of the masses is 
pale in colour; but when both ground and designs are 
dark the border should be light and narrow, so as not to 
interfere with the subject which it surrounds. Sometimes 
sharp contrast between ornament and space is the chief 
characteristic of the composition ; in that case, care must 
be exercised to throw in some details, which will add 
refinement and softness to the outline of the subject. A 
simple black f//et, which should follow a large border of 


154 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


similar tint, surrounding a white space, will be found 
valuable in bringing about the desired effect. Many 
Faenza ¢azze also afford dark blue ground, on which are 
etched white figures, their outline softened by flowing 
ribbons, leafage, and ringlets about neck and face, Fig. 
158. Similarly, in early paintings lignt-tinted figures on 
dark space are given an accompaniment of sceptre, birds, 





Fig. 158.—Ornament contrasted with Space. 


foliage, drapery, and outstretched wings, &c., in order to 
relieve length and rigidity of outline, Figs. 159 and 155. 

The builders of the Middle Ages were no _ less 
clever in providing their parapets, spandrels, etc., with 
pierced panelling, ornamented with trefoils, quartrefoils, 
or with foliated tracery; thus lightening their edifices 
and also investing them with perfection of form, by a 


LHEO 155 





iii eee) 


NAY 


OTT nT UE cae 


5 
4 
2 


Sa TL iL Semen reme nnn Gotan ital enn ara 


#072 





fig. 1§9.—Ornament contrasted with Space. 


subtle combination of straight, curved and diagonal lines. 


156 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


The student need hardly be told where to look for 
examples of work of this period; England is richer than 
any other country in beautiful churches and _ houses, 
abounding in rich and admirable ornament, to which 
access, in most instances, is free and easy. In a different 
sense, and from a wider artistic standpoint, the Albert Hall 
is well worthy his attentive consideration, as the outcome © 
of intimate knowledge and illustration of all styles, both 








DUTTOOVEE OTM OO 





e 6 


SUH 1T SOE TU eo 


fig. 160 —Ornament in imitation of Matting. 





ancient and medizval, but yet displaying the vigorous 
individuality of its creator. 

Let us now examine the relative extent of space 
and ornament, and note the various aspects produced 
according as the former predominates over the latter, 
or inversely the decorated parts over plain ones. 

When plain surfaces predominate over decorated ones, 
the result is a refined delicate ornament, suchas is seen on 


THEORY. 157 


Greek and Pompeian vases, in the arabesques and nielling 
of Italian and French Renaissance, in much of the work of 
Louis XVI., Wedgwood, Adams, and others. This, how- 
ever, may easily become mere fining and finiking of lines. 





Fig. 161.—Lnterlaced Celtic Ornament. 


When form predominates over space, the ornament is 
ample and rich in its effect, but if indulged in it is apt to 
end in heaviness and confusion of aspect ; exemplified in 
late Roman sculpture, in Celtic interlacing, in Arabic, 





Figs. 162, 163.—Space identical with Ornament. 


Moorish, and Hindu ornament, as well as in the florid 
English style of architecture and much of the present 
French art, Fig. 161. 

There is a class of ornament, however, made to 


158 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


simulate matting, under which the ground entirely dis- 
appears, except at the crossings, Fig. 1Go. 

In Fig. 5 we give a very pleasing decorative design, 
produced by a judicious apportionment of space and 


ornament. 








Ne 






Bs ie de Ie. : 


y 
fh ° oF 


ry 
Hatt ey 


i Daw “ Atl (ont Et! 


Fig. 164.—Space identical with Ornament. 


A judicious alternation of space and ornament is in 
some cases resorted to from motives of expediency in 
the production of articles of industry ; illustrated in 162, 
where ornament and ground are ‘similar in form, varia- 
tion being obtained in the colouring of white against 


black. 


THEORY. 


It need hardly be observed that similar combination 


Arabic (symmetrical). Chinese (unsymmetrical). 


fA 
~A\ AHS! 


NN 





Fig. 106.— Ornament of Twofold Effect. 


is produced at very little expenditure of labour. Some- 


8 


160 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


times, as in damask fabrics, the form is so arranged as to 
call the attention over the whole surface ; this expression, 
in a higher order of ornament, is very much to be sought — 
after by the student. 

The ground has not at all times been considered as 
the visible surface, resulting from intervals left by orna- 
ment ; Byzantine artists were the first who used space as 





Fig. 107.— Corner Ornament parallel to Outline. 


an element of decoration by giving it ornamental outline. 
This was followed by Arab and Italian artists in their 
compositions, in which ornament and space are identical in 
form, and present admirable gradations of colour, resulting 
in rich and pleasing effects, Fig. 163. 

The Moors, Arabs, Italians, and Hindus more especi- 
cally, delight in this class of forms, known as “ counter- 
change ;” the pavements and mural ornamentation of 


THEORY. 161 


Italian churches, the mosques of Constantinople, of 
Cairo, and the court of the Alhambra at the Crystal 









































Fig. 168.—Composition depending for its effect on subtle 
arrangement of Colours. 


Palace, etc., afford many beautiful examples. some of 
great richness and intricacy of design, Fig. 164. 

What we have said of primary divisions will apply in 
part to corners, where an easy and simple mode should be 
the rule. There are two ways of treating the corner. 


162 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


In the one case, the angle is treated as such, Fig. 166 ; 
in the other the ornament is parallel to the outline, 
exemplified in Fig. 167, showing two panels of the 
sixteenth century with circular medallions and span- 
drils. These should be slightly sunk so as to dis- 
appear in the general mass a, for if it is in rehef 3, its 
angular form of outline will be emphasized in a very 
objectionable manner. 

The marked difference between a symmetrical and 
unsymmetrical construction is well seen in the Arabic 
and Chinese panels, Fig 165. These might be multiplied 
almost ad infinitum, but they will suffice to illustrate our 
meaning, and lead the student to seek fresh fields for 
himself. 

There is also a peculiar kind of decorative ornament 
first met with in Grzco-Roman paintings, reproduced by 
the Italian Renaissance, and again taken up towards the 
end of last century. In this class of composition, a floral 
ornament simulating an inner border forms part of the 
composition, which is kept low in tone, brilliant colouring 
being reserved for the ground found towards the real 
border. Similar arrangement will require much subtlety, 
and tax the resources of the artist to the utmost, in order 
to ensure satisfactory aspect to the parts immediately 
bordering the ground. Its want of truth, however, renders 
it at best but an ingenious expedient. (Fig. 168.) 


CHAPTER IV. 
FURNITURE. 


THE relation of form and detail to each other which 
has been noticed in another place, naturally leads up to 
the principle of ornament as applied to objects of com. 
mon use. With the Greeks, beautiful and good were 
synonymous terms; we would alter it thus: a thing to 
be beautiful must also be useful—a principle we have 
endeavoured to set forth in our earlier chapters. Hence 
glasses and silver cups should have their parts propor- 
tioned and such as can be easily handled. If the stem 
is too short the equilibrium of the vessel will suffer; if 
too long, it will be equally obnoxious and wearisome of 
aspect. Care, too, should be taken to make the lip suffi- 
ciently prominent, for if this is neglected the liquid will 
run down the sides of the vessel and soil the adjacent 
objects, such as table-cloth, carpet, etc. This principle 
is well observed in ecclesiastical silver pieces, notably 
chalices, exhibiting stems furnished with a round form 
upon which the hand may rest. Many Persian bottles 
also present a similar feature. (Fig. 169.) 

In like manner, it should not be forgotten that a lamp 
is a receptacle intended to hold inflammable matter; its 
foot or base, therefore, should be sufficiently large not 
to be easily upset; while its mechanism must be good 


164 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


and conveniently placed. Similarly, the probable des- 
tination of an object should be remembered in its 
selection ; and if the choice lies between two lamps, for 
instance, one very beautiful and rare, but likely to prove 
useless, whilst the plain and more common one promises 
well, preference should be given to the latter. 

Vessels exhibiting angular handles, which were much 
in vogue towards the end of the eighteenth century 





pee 


fig. 169.—Chalice and Bottle of good design. 


and the beginning of this, are obnoxious in every respect, 
Fig. 170. That forms may be beautiful, simple, and 
commodious is well seen in Fig. 171. 

Jugs, flagons, and ewers should be provided with han- 
dles which will not hurt the hand that grasps them, and 
mouths that will pour out well. A small projection for 
the palm and thumb, such as is seen on German Seideds, 
is valuable. 


THEORY. 165 


Many Renaissance productions, and a number of those 
of the seventeenth century, present handles which should 
not be reproduced ; for although great freedom of treat- 
ment is permissible, if not legitimate, in show pieces, this 
must not be so exaggerated as to destroy completely its 
primary character. Ifa vase is disfigured past recognition, 





Figs. 170, 171.—Good-shaped and JLil-shaped Handles compared. 


why not have some other form that will do as well? It 
follows therefore that when a particular shape has been 
selected, it should be pursued honestly and consistently 
throughout. The same may be said of decorative plates, 
and the difficulties of working the hollow and border, 
when a simpler and easier mode can be found in a 
medallion. 


166 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


On the other hand, the shape and fittings of a piece of 
furniture should indicate its probable use; for if it looks 
one thing while its purpose is another, the construction is 
sure to be weak or incorrect in some points, so that the 
sham wardrobe, chest of drawers, or whatever else it may 
be, will not work well. 

And in what terms shall we stigmatise those uncomfort- 
able chairs and arm-chairs, exhibiting backs with such 
deep carving as to bruise the unfortunate person rash 
enough to lean against them? Or the jewels, necklaces, 
bracelets, and earrings with multitudinous points, catching 
everywhere, tearing everything, and last, not least, hurting 
the wearer? 

The various parts of a clock, too, should be propor- 
tioned to each other; the pedestal should be of a size 
that will set off the statuette it supports, and so on with 
the other portions of the timepiece. The mistaken idea 
that a white surface is not artistic accounts, doubtless, for 
the dark-faced clocks we so often see. This is followed 
up by another wrong notion, that you cannot have too 
much of a good thing; and so ornament of the most 
elaborate and intricate description entirely covers the 
surface, accompanied by characters that are unknown to 
all but a few antiquarians. After hopelessly trying to 
find a clue to the hieroglyphics, we inwardly wish for 
the homely clocks of our young days. They could 
boast, it is true, no artistic value, but they had the merit 
of answering the purpose for which they were made, 
and their black legible Roman characters could be read 
by everybody. 


THEORY. 167 


OTHER POINTS COMMON TO ORNAMENT. 


WHILE these have already been treated in another part 
of this work, we wish here to add afew remarks on some 
minor points, especially the human figure, which formed 
so distinguishing a feature of the art-subjects of the 
Renaissance, under Louis XIV. and the Tudors. 
The artists of this period, proud of their knowledge, 
were eager to display it in its most exalted expression, 
and introduced the human form wherever a_ place 
could be found for it, forgetting that the mind soon 
wearies of contemplating a series of parts which require a 
certain effort to be read and all of equal importance, 
and seeks unconsciously a quiet corner, where to rest 
awhile, that it may go back with renewed zest to the 
more complicated portions. 

‘This exuberance of the human form, already apparent 
in the Loggie of Raphael * as well as in the art-products 
of Michelangelo, runs riot with the brothers Carracci and 
Benvenuto Cellini, whilst the school of Fontainebleau 
was marked by the same error of judgment. Similarly, 
the Hindus have made undue use of the animal and 
human form in the facades of their pagodas, exhibiting 
moreover a perfect maze of patterns of extraordinary 
intricacy ; whilst in late Gothic architecture multitudinous 
figures look out from every nook and corner. 

Ornament should be conceived in view of the position 

* Raphael was a gieat painter, but not a decorator, who treated 


walls and ceilings as he would canvas. The same holds good 
with painters of this and later periods. 


168 DECORATIVE COMPOSIT10ON., 


it will ultimately occupy. Thus a panel representing 
Agriculture, for example, should not be constructed on 
the same lines as one portraying the Arts and Sciences. 
In the former, a few wild flowers, some clustering hops 
and ears of corn, accompanied by rustic implements, 
will sufficiently indicate its character; but a more 





Fig. 172.—Ffaulty Decoration : Main subject not predominant. 


elaborate and subtle treatment will be appropriate for 
the latter. | 

It may be laid down as a principle, that in a sym- 
metrical composition, the most prominent surface, or 
that which is on a level with the eye, should be occupied 
by the primary subject. This, to a certain extent, is 
applicable to unsymmetrical compositions, for if the 
form is placed in a corner much of its interest will be 


THEORY. 169 


destroyed. This principle is well illustrated in “ Annun- 
ciation,” and other pictures of like description, wherein 
the angel or secondary subject, at the other side of the 
canvas, helps to set off and concentrate the attention on 
the principal figure. But a frieze surrounding a vase may 
have its parts repeated, for here the eye will naturally 
follow the ornament over the whole surface. 

Further, it is self-evident that the main subject 
must receive more care than the accessories surround- 
ing it; hence the mode of treatment exemplified in 
Fig. 172 1s to be discarded as violating the principles we 
have set forth. 


PART I1.—PRACTICE. 


MATERIALS USED IN DECORATION. 


THE first part of this work deals with the theoretical side 
of decorative art; it remains now to note the various 
materials used in ornament, as well as the effect they 
produce, according as this or that material is selected. 
This important principle, touched upon before, must 
be studied both in relation to a just conception of the 
object to be represented, as well as the nature of the 
material at command, since this will greatly modify the 
form, whilst neglect of its potentialities will result in 
disaster. Consequently the artist should guard against 
painfully imitating the effect that strictly belongs to 
another material, and which will not have the same 
fitness out of its natural place. Such would be a 
gate, Fig. 173, where, from a mistaken notion of unity, 
all sense of fitness would be discarded by carrying the 
design on stone and wood alike; seen in A, corrected in 
B. These remarks particularly apply to designers, who, 
to considerations of usefulness, of expediency, and of the 
limitations imposed upon them by the material at hand, 


PRACTICE. 171 


must also aim at clothing their ideas with interest and 
with as much grace as these restrictions will permit, so as 









URIS, PY ion ©? his NIGNG ee 
=5 Tat We 
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to raise their compositions above the level of mere indus- 








trial products. 


I.—STONE, MARBLE, GRANITE, AND PORPHYRY. 


CALCAREOUS stone, either hard or soft, is one of the 
materials most generally used in buildings, fountains, 
columns and balustrades, in monumental vases and 
finials of every kind. It is first cut into large blocks by 
heavy blows dealt with a pickaxe and sledge-hammer, 
and then hollowed out with gentle blows so as not to 
split the mass, and cut, moulded, carved, and polished 
off on the surface with a chisel, etc. 

Hard stone and marble admit of higher polish and 
more elaborate work than softer and looser materials. 
With patience and gentle well-regulated blows the 


172 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


chisel is driven by a light hammer, producing the broader 
or heavier lines; with the borer, deep or shallow 





LT. 


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el 42 ‘ 


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KEK wr 
. \\ 


fig. 174.—Stone Vase: 


Appropriate design. 






channels are cut, as well 
as minute and delicate 
patterns of great beauty, 
the effect of which may be 
enhanced by opposing 
highly polished or filled 
parts to dull or plain 
ones. 

The greater or less 
degree of ornamentation 
must be regulated by the 
material employed and the 
destination of the art 
object. Thus, in a vase of 
solid stone intended as 
a finial in a building of a 
certain importance, and 
which we ‘know will be 
viewed from afar, refine- 
ment of make would be 
superfluous and lost to the 
sight; hence if the general 
effect of outline and the 
details are pleasing and 
appropriate to the material, 
the artist will have done 


enough to satisfy decorative requirements, Fig. 174. 


In this spirit were conceived the stone monuments of the 


PRACTICE. 173 


sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and if their outward 
aspect is somewhat heavy, it undoubtedly harmonizes 
better with stone than the sunk delicate details of the 
perforated pinnacles of the fifteenth and sixteenth 






ay, 
uy DN a 


; NOK * 
Zi 


‘ 


Fig. 175.—Marble Vase: Good Roman design. 


centuries ; for their ruinous state is sufficient proof of 
the absurdity of fine work in such a position. 

Roman marble work is marked by breadth of expression 
and make which are exceedingly satisfactory. This is very 
well seen in their funeral urns, bowls, monumental vases, 


174 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


Fig. 175, tripods, Fig. 176, and in the fine decorative 
candelabra which have come down to us. 


The traditions of imperial Rome were continued in 





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ap 









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RSet 


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SSS EFA | A 


Fig. 176.—Marble Tripod: 
Good Roman design. 


Italy throughout the Middle 
Ages and the Renaissance. 
Italian work of this period 
is distinguished by exquisite 


taste and consummate 


knowledge of the capabili- 
ties of the material used, 
a principle which is not 
observable in the art pro- 
ductions of Italians of the 
present day, in which minute 
and over-delicate execution 
are the chief character- 
istics, 

In window-frames care 
must be exercised to make 
the openings sufficiently large 
to let in as much light 
as possible, leaving — plain 
and strong bands uncut to 
support the work. This is 
the Roman 
claustra, in the Byzantine, 


well seen in 


Arabic, and especially Moor- 


ish window-frames, in which pretty patterns are carved 


in soft plaster easy of repair, and often of marvellously 


delicate workmanship, Fig. 177. 


PRACTICE. 175 


Hard stones, such as granite, porphyry, and jasper, 
require much patient labour, and details can hardly be 
obtained away from the mass. Fine-grained marble is 
not found in Egypt, therefore hard and soft calcareous 
stone, or the harder porphyry, basalt, and especially 
granite, were used in her monumental works. The 
rigid and almost flat treatment 
of most Egyptian compositions is 
accounted for by the constant 
danger the artist was in of 
shivering the work he wished 
to represent to pieces. Conse- 
quently, statues were planned so 
as to run the least risk of such 
catastrophe ; their pose was gene 
rally quiet, the hair fast to the 
shoulders, the arms and _ legs 
reserved, Fig. 178, or they 
disappear in the drapery, whilst 
a pilaster-like stand supports 





the whole, yielding a convenient 
space for inscriptions. Similar fig. 177.—Arabie 
supports are not used in bronze Ak ae lai 
statuettes, for they are of easier execution and in no 
danger of breakage. As might be expected, their 
modelling is finer and their treatment marked by a 
degree of freedom never found in those worked in hard 
stone. 

Roman imitations of Egyptian monumental works are 


incongruous, like all imitations, lacking the very quali- 


176 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


ties which it was intended to secure, and which make the 
monoliths of Egypt so imposing and satisfactory. 












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Fig. 178.—Egyptian Statue. 


II.—Woop, Esony, AND Ivory. 


Ir is almost superfluous to mention that woods are of 
very different quality and usefulness. In Europe the 
oak has the pre-eminence, for if it cannot be cut in 
every direction, nor so finely carved as walnut, it is of 
much longer duration, and the only one susceptible of 
being worked into scrolls, foliates, floral and animal 


PRACTICE. 177 


forms, whilst retaining its beautiful massive aspect. 
These characteristics of the oak were fully recognised by 
the Romans, with whom one of its names, vobur, 
was synonymous with strength, hardness, power, and 
endurance. 

In England oak panelling, oak flooring, oak chests, 
and other pieces of furniture were extensively used 
during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, when a 
large proportion of this country was covered with oak 
forests. Of the old pieces still preserved, a chest of the 
time of King John may be mentioned. We have some 
curious records of the endurance of particular wood 
structures. The cedar roof of the famous temple of 
Diana of Ephesus was intact at the end of four centuries. 
The roof beams of the temple of Apollo at Utica were of 
cedar, and still sound after twelve hundred years. The 
beautiful open roof of Westminster Hall, said to be of 
chestnut, dates from Richard II., and is still in good 
preservation. 

Woods have not escaped the whims of fashion ; thus 
in olden times our furniture was chiefly made of oak and 
walnut, which were replaced by mahogany, and in rare 
instances by satin-wood, ebony, rosewood, etc.; now 
the list of ornamental woods is much enlarged, including 
grey maple, Hungarian yew, olive, ash, Amboyna, and 
many more. 

Fine woods, used in the form of veneer, z.c. cut In very 
thin sheets, such as the citron, apple, cherry, plum, holly, 
beef-wood, Coromandel, locust-tree, zebra, yacca, Palmyra, 
nutmeg-wood, bamboo, cane, Japanese woods, etc., 


178 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


owing to their costliness are only found in the houses of 
the wealthy. 

Among the common tools used for working woods 
are the plane, beam-compass, the gouge and chisel; to 
these may be added the lathe, which seems to have been 
employed from the earliest times, and is met with in 
Egypt, in Babylonia and other countries. 

Our space forbids us to do more than merely draw 
attention to the various modes by which beams, wood 
furniture, panelling, and the like are pieced together. 

Framing joints, used in the construction of roofs and 
centres of bridges, are always made on the principle of a 
tenon and mortise; that is, one of the pieces to be joined 
is cut away so as to have a small projection called tenon, 
and a cavity called mortise formed in the other piece 
to receive this tenon. Sometimes tenons are cut very 
short, so as not to pass through the other piece; when, 
to prevent lateral displacement, notably when the pres- 
sure is oblique, a bolt or iron strap is commonly used. 

Timbers may be connected longitudinally by simply 
bringing the two pieces end to end, placing a short 
piece on each side, and bolting through these short 
pieces and the main beams. But when nicety isrequired 
beams are connected lengthwise by scarjfing, z.e. by cut- 
ting away half of the substance of each portion or beam, 
and the cut portions being brought together, are fastened 
by screws, bolts, straps or wedges. In constructing the 
scarf, care must be exercised to provide for the strain 
the piece is likely to sustain, either lengthwise or in a 
transverse direction. 


PRACTICE. 179 


Beams may be connected by cogging, when a shallow 
notch is cut out of the under surface of the beam, and a 
similar notch is cut in the wall-plate to receive the beam. 

Two pieces are said to be /afped together when a 


“4 
LEY SAY . 
Groove. Tongue « Tenon 
ee. 
Vy aes Mortise 
S = 


Dove-tailing 








portion of each is cut away and the cut surfaces brought 
together. 


Joints of every description, whether brought to bear 
on beams, the framework of doors, lintels, sills, cabinets, 
caskets, and the like, must be thoroughly mastered if it is 
wished to produce artistic furniture, Fig. 179. 

Carved and foliated subjects should be well kept 
together by judicious ties, and the finer parts framed 
within the more solid ones. 


180 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


The artist should not strive to invest wood fabrication 
with unduly fine and delicate details, which would be 
inappropriate, and at best can only please the ignorant; 
nor should the generai structure of any composition 
disappear under elaborate and rich ornament. 

In the case of pattern-making and cabinet-work, it is 
most important that the wood should be well seasoned 
and of proper dimensions, so as to avoid warping, split- 
ting, and twisting, which will ruin the best work. This 
is well exemplified in the large panels of the seventeenth - 
and eighteenth centuries, where unsightly splits and 
shrinkage are of frequent occurrence. These defects are 
never met with in medieval work. 

As a 1ule, bolts, straps, screws, and the like should 
be employed in preference to glue; which looks better at — 
first, but 1s apt to get out of order in a damp climate, 
causing the pieces to fall out. The Egyptians, with 
true instinct, used wooden joints in their furniture ; seen 
in a chair preserved in the Louvre collection, a cast of 
which is in the South Kensington Museum. The British 
Museum is rich in specimens of Egyptian chairs ; whilst 
on the monuments of Khorsabad, unearthed by Sir H. 
Layard, “‘ we find representations of chairs supported by 
animals and by human figures, sometimes prisoners. In 
this they resemble the arm-chairs of Egypt, but seem to 
have been more massive.” 

Veneering, or the art of covering a cheap wood with 
thin slices of a more ornamental character, laid down 
with care, must be referred back to the time of Pliny. 
It was doubtless suggested by the extravagant prices that 


PRACTICE. 181 


were given for solid tables of precious woods. Cicero is 
said to have paid £9,000 for one table only. 

Northern countries are very rich in wood-panelling 
and wainscoting of all kinds, but the most beautiful 
examples met with in various collections are of Eastern 
origin. The South Kensington Museum possesses 





| Fig. 180.—Avabic Frame-work. 


numerous specimens, distinguished by delicate carving 
and seeming intricacy in the arrangement of their 
geometrical designs of excellent effect. Our cut shows an 
Arabic frame-work, where woods prepared by the saw 
or turned in the lathe have been employed, Fig. 180. 

To give an account, however summary, of the elaborate 
and extensive wood-work of the fifteenth century, such 


182 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


¥ 4 


>= 


> 7, 
as! 
Gn phmst 


Ss 





Fig, 181.—Sixteenth Century Wood-work. 


PRACTICE, 183 


as screens, posts covered with tracery, coffers, stall-ends 
in churches,. cupboards, and benches in baronial halls, 
with which England abounds, and which were designed 
after patterns of window tracery, would carry us far 
beyond our scope ; and for the 
same reason we cannot do 
more than mention the re- 
markable wood furniture and 
panelling of the Renaissance, 
conspicuous for bold design 
and rich ornamentation, Fig. 








181. In Fig. 182, representing 
an Italian bellows, this boldness 
and surety of hand are well 
exemplified. 

The form of ‘ornament on 
wood and other furniture on 
the continent during the seven- 
teenth and eighteenth centuries, 





are the egg and tongue and 
other classical mouldings. In Te 
England, a more natural style 
was introduced by Grinling 
Gibbons. ‘This artist carved Fig. 182.—Bellows : 
birds, foliage, flowers, fruit, As Mga tod 
pieces of drapery, and so on, with rare truth and excel- 
lence of execution. Examples of his work may be seen 
over the altar of St. James’s Church, as well as in 
the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral and in many private 


houses. 
9 


184 DECORATIVE COMPOS/TION. 


Ivory inlay, almost restricted in Europe at the 
present time to small fancy objects and show pieces, 
was extensively used by artists of the Renaissance. 
It is still in great demand in the East, where it 
originated. 

Mouldings, foliage, scrolls, wreaths, pendants, and 
fruit, either carved separately and fixed with glue or 
clamps to cabinets, sideboards, wardrobes, and other 
pieces of furniture, admit of the smallest pieces of wood 
being used, and great division of labour; but they are 
not satisfactory, despite undoubted qualities of execution, 
for they cannot be made to spring from nor harmonize 
with the background to which they are applied The 
moderate cost of such work alone accounts for its exten- 
sive use; and that is the best that can be urged in its 
favour. 

Long pieces of wood should be held together by 
numerous joints, whilst the outline of turned wood 
should not be made to look like thin metal. Admirable 
examples of the artistic furniture of all countries, from 
the earliest times, may be seen in the collection at South 
Kensington, which should receive the studious attention 
of the artist. 


II].—Bronze, Tin, AND ELECTRO-BRONZE. 


BRONZE is an admixture of copper mixed with small 
quantities of tin, zinc, and lead. We do not propose 
entering into the various methods practised by artists at 
different times for casting in bronze, but will confine 


PRACTICE. 185 


ourselves to the simple statement that after the metal 
has been duly mixed and fused in the furnace, and the 
requisite “conduits”? have been formed, the glowing 
metal is slowly poured into the mould where it will 
receive its final shape. The polishing, chasing, filing, 
chiselling, punching, etc., which the work may require 
after removal from the mould should be done by the 
artist himself. That this was the usual practice of artists 
of the Renaissance is very apparent in their work. 

Groups and complicated figures are cast separately 
and in different pieces, which are afterwards joined by 
soldering or dovetailing. 

Works in high relief, such as the members of a figure, 
the handles of a vase, clock cases, and all important 
masses of ornament, are treated in the same manner. 

And here we may note that machine stamping 
with a die is unduly practised in the manufacture of 
light brass fittings and ornaments of all kinds, which 
can only result in dry and rigid outlines, no matter how 
much care is afterwards lavished on the work to soften 
and polish its surface. 

There is no doubt that the earlier method of working 
bronze into shape was by cold hammering and cutting, 
which in process of time was aided by heating. Admir- 
able implements, both in make and beauty of form, are 
found in every collection, and belong to what has 
been called the Bronze Period. The best examples, 
perhaps, are those of Egyptian, Greek, and Etruscan 
origin. 

Circular pieces, such as clock-wheels and the like 


186 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


requiring great nicety and precision of outline, are pro- 
duced by means of a lathe; with art objects, however, 
casting should be resorted to as more satisfactory. 


OWS 
us Zee 
eee ames 
7 
(YZ 









Fig. 183.—Lronze Tripod. fig. 184.—Bronze Lamp. 


Bronze, owing to its suppleness and flexibility, may be 
sculptured into any degree of fineness and delicacy; 
as will be observed by comparing the bronze tripod, 
Fig. 183, with the marble one, Fig. 176. 


PRACTICE. 187 


The abundant use of bronze for cast and beaten work 
in early times is placed beyond doubt by the numerous 





fig. 185.—Lronze Andiron. 


examples that have been brought to light by excavations. 
The large pieces mentioned in ancient records have not 


188 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 





Pi 
fig. 186.—Lronze Censer: Japanese Design. 


PRACTICE. 189 


been preserved, but the museums of most countries 
possess a wonderful variety of statuettes, lamps, Fig. 
184, candelabra, tables, tripods, Fig. 183, ete. 

The great sculptor, Pheidias, is supposed to have begun 
his artistic career as a worker in bronze; and some of 
his early productions were in that metal. The system of 
throwing the whole weight of a figure upon one foot, 
leaving the other detached from the base, by which a 
marvellous effect of lightness and elasticity is obtained, 
is ascribed to him. Such a conception could only 
originate with an artist who was familiar with the pro- 
perties of metal. 

The Middle Ages and the Renaissance have left us 
admirable bronze works, such as groups, figures, medal- 
lions, panelling, grating, andirons, Fig. 185, candelabra, 
etc., of perfect execution and finish; while the censers, 
Fig. 186, and vessels of Eastern nations are marvels of 
delicate tracery and richness of invention. 

In Italy metal work never completely ceased, notwith- 
standing her troubles from within and from without, 
which turned her fair plains into a battle-field for the 
rest of Europe during a thousand years. The most 
important and early Christian work in bronze which has 
been preserved is the statue of St. Peter in the basilica 
of that name in Rome. Many interesting lamps of 
bronze, ornamented with Christian symbols, such as the 
Trinity, the Lamb, the Lion, the Fish, etc., are preserved 
in the collections of Italian cities, the British Museum, 
and other places. ‘To name only the most remarkable 
works would not be possible in a book of this kind, 


190 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


but the wonderful candlestick in the Duomo, at Milan, 
may be mentioned. In composition it is a mixture of 
Byzantine and Romanesque. Some of the groups and 
figures are treated with a freedom in advance of the 
period to which they are supposed to belong. 

The Germans and Flemings have shown great skill in 
the casting of bronze. Important monuments of this 





Fig. 187.— Bronze Work; Seventeenth Century. 


metal are found throughout the churches of Flanders 
and Germany, such as. door-handles, gratings, clock- 
cases, doors, crucifixes, figures, and shrines, ornamented 
with classic mouldings. The well-known shnine of St. 
Sebald, at Nuremberg, was executed between 1508 and 
1519. A cast of this exquisite work is in the South 


Kensington Museum. 


PRACTICE, IgI 


In England ornamental bronze came into use as early 
as the twelfth century and has extended to our own 
times, a revival having again taken place within the last 
few years. 

Early English brass is formed of separate pieces 
shaped to the outline of the figure. Examples of com- 
paratively modern bronze may be seen in the equestrian 
and standing figures erected in our public squares, some 
of which, however, are of very doubtful quality and more 
or less open to criticism. 

Admirable bronze work was produced in France 
during the reigns of Louis XIV., Louis XV., and Louis 
XVI., the excellent modelling and the perfect tech- 
nique of many of which are models for the student, 
Fig. 187. The bronze works of the brothers Keller, who 
flourished under Louis XIV., may be seen at Versailles 
and elsewhere. 

It cannot be too often repeated that elaborate manipu- 
lation of flesh, bits of drapery, of hair, and the like, 
will not compensate for defects of casting, and should 
not be resorted to by the artist. 

We have abundant proofs that tin was extensively 
used in the art work of medieval times, and among the 
remarkable examples which have been preserved, the 
ewers and ornamental plates of Briot may be cited. 

Tin is a flexible, soft, and ductile metal; but it does 
not admit of the fine chiselling which may be given to 
the various parts of a good and careful bronze casting. 
It is more appropriate to smooth surfaces, which may 
be relieved by judicious nielling or by a sunk design. 


192 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


Patinas are green, red, brown, or blackish colours, 
acquired by a metal after long burial in the ground. 
They are extensively used by the Chinese and the 
Japanese in their bronzes, which, after many fruitless 
attempts, have been successfully imitated by French 
artists. Unfortunately, electro-bronze is apt to tarnish 
by exposure, so that its use must be restricted to 
interiors. 


TV,—I RON: 


WHEN iron leaves the foundry it is taken up by the 
artisan in the shape of bars, and is then placed on the 





anvil and worked, with or without a drawing, into twists, 


scrolls, interlacing bands, and the like, Fig. 188. 

In fine hammered and complicated work the various 
parts are wrought or beaten separately and welded or 
riveted to the stem. This was the method practised by 
artisans of olden times, and is still the prevailing rule of 
all good and ornamental English iron-work. 

But when iron is thinned to extreme fineness, as 1s 
often the case with French ornament, the delicate forms 
are apt to break if welded to the stouter ones; they are, 


PRACTICE. 193 


therefore, soldered, pinned, riveted, or brazed on to the 
stems and scrolls, Fig. 189. 


eo a re . 
Po ttt nan Wg 





tig. 190. — Three Sta ges "he Hammered Iron-work. 


The old artificers confined themselves to simple forms, 
such as were best suited to the material. In process of 


194 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


time, however, cut, piereed, and chiselled iron-work came 
to be made. This was soon followed by the fine art of 

chasing in vepoussé, Fig. 190. 
Although iron is a hard metal it is very ductile, and 
may be hammered on the back, front, and side, and 
twisted in all directions to 





Suny Ty AT form foliage, flowers, stems, 


a labels, and even human forms, 
Fig. 191. 

Beautiful beaten and 
chiselled handles of swords, 
handles of daggers, railings, 
window-guards, doors, hinges, 
knockers, articles of furniture, 
and other decorative objects 
were executed during the 
whole of ‘the Middle Ages. 
Several keys, knockers, and 
hinges, wrought with rare free- 
dom and beauty of design, are 
still met with in England. Our 
illustration, Fig. 192,is a suc- 
Fig. 191.—Hammered cessful reproduction of ham- 

STS mered iron-work executed in 
1251 for the chapel used by Edward I. The floriated 
hinges of this interesting door are fine examples of 
wrought iron-work. The next cut is an interesting 
example of old German work, Fig. 193. 

Among the remarkable pieces of medieval iron- 
work that have been preserved, the famous chair made 


RRAGCIICE. 195 



































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Fig. 192.—Hammered lron-work. 


for Rudolf II., of Augsburg workmanship, and now the 
property of Lord Radnor, may be mentioned. 




















196 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


The South Kensington collection is rich in specimens 
of fine iron-work of all kinds, from the earliest periods of 
the art to the present day. The finest repoussé and 
chiselled work is found in arms and armour, amongst 




























































































th’, 


‘s 















































































































































































































































yer ul 
Nl Mi) a "i or C) ys ed 
Dp): eel 


—) Y 



































IN if 


| i 






























































(i Vp 

WAAIIIIII MP2 if NU Ai? rl | Ler 
} df | | hh SSA | dy 

SS at ( il i] ni NOT Ne a 
























































































































































































































































Fig. 193.—Hammered I[ron-work : Old German. 


which Oriental and Italian arms are perhaps the most 
interesting from an artistic standpoint. Many large 
works in iron were executed in the sixteenth and seven- 
teenth centuries, such as the beautiful French gates of 























PRACTICE. 197 


the Apollo Gallery at the Louvre, and the screens of 
Hampton Court, now at South Kensington. The design 
and the execution of these screens are admirable. The 
ornamentation consists of the rose, the shamrock, the 
thistle, ferns, etc., executed with truthfulness and of 
marvellous effect. 

This collection also contains balconies, window grat- 
ings (such as are used even at the present day in Spain, 
Italy, and all over the East), shrines, crosses, door- 
fittings, etc., some of the specimens dating as far back as 
rto15, and belonging respectively to Flanders, Germany, 
France, and in fact to all the civilised countries of the 
world. 

Casting 1s admirably suited for large and solid work, 
and owing to its comparative cheapness has replaced 
wrought iron for common decorative purposes. 

Unfortunately, under the erroneous notion of investing 
it with the appearance of hammered iron, it is frequently 
covered with elaborate ornamentation of inferior 
quality. 

Among modern specimens may be mentioned the 
admirable metal-work of the Palace at Westminster, 
and a portion of a railing surrounding a tomb in Finchley 
cemetery, Fig. 194. 

The only drawback to iron is its tendency to rust when 
exposed to the outer air. This may be obviated by 
applying several layers of paint to its surface, but the fine 
sharp outline of the work is thereby destroyed. The use 
of nickel is not open to this inconvenience; the high 
price, however, which has to be paid for it must restrict 


198 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


its emvloyment to small ornamental objects. The recent 









































3 











Dey.) 
OXY 












































system of applying a layer of copper to large works not 
requiring close inspection, as fountains and lamp-posts, for 


PRACTICE. 199 


example, has met with even less success than the old 
mode of painting. 

We will conclude this chapter with a quotation from 
one who is entitled to speak on the relative merit of 
French and English beaten metal-work. | 

“The French exceed in taste and effect, but the English 
excel in hammered iron-work. ‘The French make their 
design strong and effective, but the ornamentation, being 
of thin iron sheet, is light and elegant, but forms a 
separate part from the rest of the work, and must decay 
very soon. Another fault is, that being of thin iron, re- 
course must be had to riveting or brazing. 

“But if iron-work is to last a long time it must be 
welded together or worked from the solid bar, then the 
leaves may be made sufficiently strong to last a number 
of years. A good design should allow of this being done, 
and I think in England good designs do so.” 

Another artificer agrees that the English ‘“ mould 
better, and finish more completely, with the sole use of 
the hammer, but that the French make great use of files 
and other finishing tools.” 


V.— Brass, Copper, LEAD, AND ZINC. 


THE process of hammer-raising, of which mention has 
been made in our remarks on iron, is effected by a series 
of blows dealt regularly and evenly so as to keep the 
shape regular and all parts of equal thickness, care being 
taken to have the blank sheet of metal of exact size, so 
that none has to be cut off afterwards. The copper 


200 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


moulds used for jellies, cakes, etc., afford a good example 
of high relief by hand hammering. 

Copper and Latten (yellow brass) are often worked 
and raised by means of the planisher or by “spinning,” 
z.é. moulded with copper burnishers while being turned 
in the lathe. This method is used alike by tinkers 
and brass artificers in the production of tin or copper 
vessels, metal plates, etc., and although it does not 
strictly belong to art-execution, it is frequently associated 





CIAVA DOM 


Fig. 195.—Repoussé Brass-work. Fig. 198a.—Cast Brass-work. 


with it: for here, as with more delicate work, after the 
vessel is finished the rim, the fluting, and the like are 
added and touched up by the repairer. When all the 
corrections are made and the required effect produced, 
the surface is finished by chiselling or carving of the 
finer parts, such as flowers, foliage, and all the details 
requiring skilful execution. The work is completed by 
matting certain portions of the surface, some being left 
bright and others flat, or retiring, in order to produce 
texture or variety. 


PRACTICE. 201 


If the vessel is somewhat complicated, exhibiting 
handles, rings, stems, knobs, etc., such portions have to 
be raised separately and joined in their place by riveting 
or brazing.* 

The difference between cast and wrought metal con- 
sists in this: that the former is generally thick, admitting 
of rich and elaborate ornamentation ; whilst the thinness 
of the latter will only 
bear broad and simple 
designs, with retreating 
outlines, so as to avoid 
sharp and acute edges, 
well seen in Figs. 195, 
1Q5A, where the treat- 
ment is appropriate 
to the material em- 
ployed and pleasing in 
its effect. 

The use of copper 
was known to the 
early inhabitants of 
the countries in which 
the metal is found, and 
was fashioned into 





weapons, domestic 


Fig. 196.—Oriental Coffee-pot. 


utensils, etc. From 

the East have come those shapely coffee-pots and ewers, 
nearly of pure copper, which are the delight of connois- 
seurs, Fig. 196. 


* Sometimes a wood or resin core is used for raising the metal. 


202 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


The greater portion of the admirably wrought vessels 
for church use of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth 
centuries, were of copper gilded with gold, as were 
those of the Renaissance, many of which are of great 
beauty of form and ornamentation ; nor can it be said 
that the use of copper ever ceased. Its malleabuility 
is peculiarly adapted to the formation of objects of every 
variety and shape. Its use is seen in our boilers and 
refrigerating pans, in the sheets that protect the keel of 
our ships from barnacles and other insidious creatures, as 
well as in the production of smaller objects, such as stew 
and warming-pans, tea-urns, kettles, coinage, medals, etc. 

Tin, or white lead, was known in remote times, and 
still retains its value in the industrial arts when com- 
bined with lead and copper. Lead, on account of its 
extreme ductility, has to be supported by iron or 
wooden braces; hence, redundant forms should be 
rejected in order to prevent awkward deformations. 

Lead was extensively used during the Middle Ages, the 
Renaissance, Fig. 197, and even in our own day, in false 
roofs, finials, and the like. The fountains at Versailles 
are of lead partly fused and partly wrought, dating from 
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. 

Electro and stamped work have dealt a severe blow to 
artistic metal productions. Many copies of beautiful de- 
signs are undoubtedly reproduced at a very moderate cost, 
and where a plain form only is required stamping is satis- 
factory enough; but when decorative ornament is intro- 
duced the mechanical appliances become apparent, for little 
or no variety of shape is to be looked for in the designs. 


PRACTICE. 203 


Skilful artisans, too, are becoming every day more 
scarce, and in a period of hurry, when everything is for 
mere show, the time cannot be 
far distant when the fine art of 
wrought metal will only be re- 
membered as a tradition of the 
past, or at least for the apprecia- 
tive few. 

Zinc, being the least valuable 
of all metals, is not usually beaten 
or wrought, and, as it is rather 
brittle, its use should be restricted 
to objects of large dimensions. 
But its extreme malleability will 
always prevent its being ex- 
tensively adopted in §architec- 
tonic work. . 

Imitation Paris bronze (cast 
and wrought zinc) is treated a “ ace 
almost in the same manner as Sane as y* 
the nobler metal; but, however ! 
well moulded or cast, it does 
not admit of the same finish as 
bronze, and it is foolish to 
imagine that zinc statuettes, 





zinc flower-pots, zinc stands, Fig. 197.—Renaissance 
and the like, can be decorated, Finial, 
treated with colour, or gilded and given the patinas of 
bronze in a satisfactory manner. 

The piercing press does excellent service in the repro- 


204 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


duction of a set design, but it is inapplicable to original 
art-work. For these recourse must be had to the fret 
and the nbbon saw, which combine the qualities of 
machine and hand-work to such a marvellous degree, 
that in another age the effect produced would have 
been attributed to a supernatural power. 

The construction of a design pierced by mechanical 
means should not be the same on a dark as on a light 
ground, and when the scheme of the design alters the 












































fig. 198.—fierced Work. 


place of the joints, these must be made sufficiently strong 
to prevent the breaking or twisting of the blank piece, 
Fig. 198. In principle, curvilinear forms are better 
adapted to piercing with the fret-saw than straight lines, 
consequently tangent crossings and acute edges should 
be discarded. The fret-saw soon breaks or gets out of 
order; hence its application is expensive and confined 
to very thin sheets of iron, or to more ductile metals, such 
as bronze and zinc, which admit of elaborate designs. 


FRACLTIC“E, 205 


Woik done by means of these appliances is in every 
way more satisfactory than the cast brass fittings that were 
in vogue some years ago, the chief characteristic of 
which was inferior and wearisome uniformity of design, 
whereas the plain and pierced surfaces of this style form 
a pleasing contrast with the surrounding reliefs. 


VT GOLD. AND SILVER. 


GOLD is distributed in many portions of the globe. It 
exists in England and Wales, but only in small quan- 
tities. Gold has been accepted by most nations as the 
embodiment of wealth, and its qualities can hardly be 
over-estimated. Few chemicals act on it, it does not 
tarnish or alter by melting and recasting, and the beauty 
and splendour of its colour have been universally felt ; 
it is portable, and so ductile that it can be beaten out 
to almost the consistency of tissue paper. The art of 
beating out gold into thin leaves is not a modern 
invention; Pliny states that in his time ‘one ounce 
could be stretched out into seven hundred and _ fifty 
leaves four fingers square.” 

In order to enhance the natural glitter of gold and 
silver, artists, at a very early period, introduced precious 
stones, pearls, crystals, etc., into their work. The stones 
were not cut into facets as they are in the present day, 
but ground down with as much symmetry as their 
natural shape would allow. 

Among the oldest examples of gold work none are so 
remarkable as the collection found in a tomb at Thebes, 


206 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


including a gold dagger, a diadem, a square brooch set 
with coloured stones, a bracelet ornamented with raised 
figures, a boat of massive gold, etc. ; of about 1500 B.c. 

We read that the temple of Belus, in Babylon, had a 
golden image of colossal size, and that the throne and 
table which stood in the porch were also of gold. It is 
probable that similar works were only plated on a 
wooden frame; that this was the case with the statue of 
Pallas-Athene, by Pheidias, which stood in the Par- 
thenon, we know from the testimony of Pausanias, who 
saw it in place. The Greek and Etruscan artists set 
great store on the colour of gold, which they were loth 
to hide with enamel ; hence specimens of this work are 
very scarce in our museums. Allusions to wrought and 
raised work abound in all classic writers ; the beautiful 
description of the shield of Achilles presented to Thetis 
by Vulcan, “the divine artificer,’’ will be remembered 
by readers of Homer. 

The “Treasure of Hildesheim,” in the Berlin Museum, 
is one of the most important collections of Roman gold 
and silver handicraft. It consists of cups, vases, dishes, 
a tray, and other pieces for a dining-table, many of 
them of beautiful design and execution. It was un- 
earthed in 1808. 

Precious stones have been associated in all ages with 
the East. ‘“ From India,” says Sir H. Layard, “precious 
stones were probably supplied to Babylon and Nineveh.” 
The wealth of the jewelled gems, of the gold and silver, 
set forth in ‘The Thousand and One Nights,” belonged 
to the East; whence also the fleets of Solomon and 


PRACTICE. 207 


Hiram brought, amongst other rare things, ‘ precious 
stones.” ‘In Byzantium,” says Labarte, “ gold, silver, 
pearls, and precious stones were scattered about with a 
profusion which surpasses imagination.” 

The Middle Ages abound in work of silver and gold 
or copper gilt, both pierced, chased, enamelled, or set 
with precious stones, such as chasses, pyxes, book mount- 
ings, croziers, church and other plate, candlesticks, etc., 
characterised by profusion of ornament and _ skilful 
| manipulation. 

Among the most interesting examples: of English work 
of this period may be mentioned the coronation spoon 
kept in the Tower, of the thirteenth century; the Am- 
pulla, or dove, also used at the coronation, and probably 
a reproduction of an earlier piece ; and last, not least, the 
beautiful Lynn Cup, cir. 1350, of silver gilt and trans- 
lucent enamel, belonging to the corporation of that town. 

With the Renaissance, in Italy, in France, in Ger- 
many, and in England, metal works admirable in every 
respect were produced, exhibiting an infinite variety 
of designs of every size and magnificence. Many 
painters, sculptors, and architects of this period had 
begun their career, like Pheidias, as goldsmiths. 

Remarkable specimens of English plate, both ecclesi- 
astical and secular, ranging from the thirteenth century 
almost to the present day, are to be seen in the South 
Kensington Collection, in the Colleges of our Universi- 
ties, in many churches and private houses, such as 
chalices, dishes, kettles, cups, or hanaps, Fig. 199. 

Enamel, as we have seen, was known to the Byzantine 

10 


208 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


artists, but this kind of decoration was of Asiatic origin 


Fig. 199.—Hanap, or Drink- 
ing Cup. 


and wire-drawing in their filigree and 


granulated work. 


Signor Castellani, after infinite pains 





and introduced with great 
splendour and effect in the 
work of the Lower Empire. 
The Egyptians, Assyrians, 
Greeks and _ Etruscans all 
used gilding on metals, wood, 
masonry, and marble. 

Fig. 200 represents a trin- 
ket in antique gold work, 
ornamented with precious 
stones. 

We know little or nothin 
of the methods of the old 
Greek and Etruscan artists 
to separate and join pieces 
at once so 
fine and 
minute as 


to be in- 
visible to 
the naked 


eye, nor of 
their mode 
of melting, 
soldering, 





Trinket, with 
Precious Stones. 


to discover the ancient mode of working the delicate 


PRACTICE. 


209 


ornaments found in the tombs of Greece and Etruria, 
succeeded at last in producing brooches. bracelets, and 


























0 
de 


@sit 
} 




















Fig. 201.—Lrooch. 


ear-rings, rivalling their models in elegance and manipu- 


lation, Figs. 201 and 
202. 

The method for work- 
ing precious metals is the 
same as that employed 
for bronze, iron, brass, 
etc.; with this difference, 
that as their. character 
is purely decorative, they 
will not be put to hard 
uses, but, on the con- 


trary, will be preserved with great care. 








Consequently 


their chief characteristics should not be solidity and 


210 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


massiveness, as is too often the case with modern orna- 
ments, wherein the greatest amount of metal seems to 
be the main object. They should rather be distinguished 
by freedom, elegance of design and delicacy of work- 
manship, especially when shells, pearls, gems, and 
precious stones are studded about the work as points 
and sparkles of effulgent colour- 
ing and effectiveness, either to 
represent foliage, flowers, or 
animal forms, as seen in Figs. 
203, 204. 

Even simple designs, such as 
bracelets, are often spoiled 
through being made too thick 
.and heavy, unrelieved by decora- 
tion, and more appropriate to 
house furniture than to adorn 
the wrist of a lady. Our 
Fig. 205 shows that the same 
object, varied by a_ simple 





design, be it nielling or enamel, 
fig. 203.—Work in will at once raise its standard 
Eat Raatgy from an artistic point of view. 
It may be urged that such is the fashion, but if fashion 
is bad why not alter it? Reference to the models 
handed down from the best periods of art is within reach 
of every one who will take the trouble to visit our stupen- 
dous public collections; and if the designs and forms 
cannot be styled “the last thing out,” that does not 


necessarily detract from their intrinsic value. 


PRACTICE. 211 


Do we complain because nature reproduces as surely 
as the spring comes round exactly the same forms and 
the same tints in the vegetable and animal kingdoms ? 





Fig. 204.—Work in Precious Stones. 


Are we not ready to welcome the ever-recurring snow- 
drop, the simple primrose and the no less simple but 
sweet-scented violet, as well as the more brilliant galaxy 


212 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


of their gorgeous sisters, and the wealth of leaf and 
foliage P 
In conclusion we may remark that the art of cutting, 





Fig. 205.— Bracelets. 


polishing, and fashioning precious stones has reached 
such perfection that all their elements of beauty may now 
be developed to the utmost. 


VII. Meta, ENGRAVING; STONE ENGRAVING, NIEL- 
LING, DAMASCENING, AND SGRAFITTO. 


ENGRAVING is executed by means of tools of various 
sizes, the points being flat or rounded. Metal engrav- 
ing is treated exactly lke common engraving; the 
outline of the design is traced on the metal, then cut to 
the required depth with a graver, and the ground is 
matted or cut in light parallel or cross lines. But although 
the process is the same the result is widely different. 


PRACTICE. 213 


Thus, whilst the common engraver strives to reproduce 
as faithfully as possible the tones, the exact modelling, 
the texture and variety of the minutest details of the 
original picture, the decorative engraver will proceed by 
bold cutting of the general masses, contenting himself 
with bringing out the general shapes of the outline. 
Stippling cannot well be too simple, either when intro- 
duced in the background or to shade the half-tints of the 


Caen 


Yy 
, 


a ML 


i 
i 
\ 





Fig. 206.—Engraved Metal. 


form. Designs, it should be recollected, may be applied 
to inwrought or inversely to plain grounds, the ornament 
appearing matted or bright cut, Fig. 206. 

As the outlines of graven forms lack precision, colour 
was added in very early times to the incised lines to 
remedy this, and thus gave rise to the charming and effec- 
tive art of welling, which consists of a compound of 
silver, lead, sulphur, and copper, made into a powder 


274 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


and passed through the furnace, forming a dark-coloured 
paste carefully laid into the lines of the engraving, and 
yielding a pleasing contrast with the bright colour of the 
silver. The aspect of wze//o is that of an engraving. 
Mention has already been made of the metal engraving 
of the nations bordering on the Mediterranean, but a 
word should be said upon the elaborate ornamentation, 
the wealth of engraving, of nielling and incrustation of 
Indian metal work, Fig. 207, its magnificence recalling 


cE 


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ef 


= ACSTT ELSI 


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Dy 
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a 


Ay ipgteuil 


ou 


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hs Sy <x Ty, 
Gas ase Ly, nics BENS 
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Fig. 207.—lndian Engraved Metal Work. 


the glowing descriptions of the ancient poet. Nor should 
the artists of the Renaissance be left unnoticed, for they 
too were lavish in their use of nielling as a mode of 
decorating precious metals, Fig. 208. 

Damascening is the art of inlaying or incrusting one 
metal upon another. It is generally done with gold 
and sometimes silver leaf or wire laid on the surface of 
iron, steel, or bronze. This system derives its name 
from Damascus, where it was practised and carried to 
the highest perfection by the ancient goldsmiths and 


PRACTICE. 215 


armourers in the manufacture of their ornaments and 
weapons. 

Damascening was early introduced in Persia, India, 
Spain, and Italy ; in the latter country the workshops of 
the azzimisti (colonized Persians) at one time furnished 





fig. 208.—Persian Nielled Work. 


the whole of Europe with damascened work of the highest 
guality, Fig. 209. 

The steels of Venice in the sixteenth century, and 
especially those of Milan, were justly esteemed. Not only 
were their weapons and armour damascened, but caskets 
and other pieces of furniture were ornamented with wedi, 
enamel and arabesques of great delicacy and purity of 
design. 

True damascening consists in cutting (intaglio) soft 
iron or steel, and filling the lines thus made with gold or 


216 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


silver wire, which to be effective must be of a certain’ 
thickness. The engraving must be executed in sucha 
manner that the sides of the lines are overhanging, the 
wire being carefully fastened in position or beaten with a 
hammer ; when this is done the whole surface is gone over 
and polished. Another scheme equally effective and 
lasting is obtained by inserting small strips of gold in 
lines cut.in steel or iron, and decorating these with relief 





Lig. 209.—Herso-ltalian Damascened Work, 


or incised forms. Damascening may also be achieved 
by simply laying the gold leaf on the metal plate and 
causing it to adhere. Such work, however, is not 
durable, as the gold leaf is apt to get loose or otherwise 
to wear off. 

Of late the new process of galvanoplasty has been 
applied to engraving with charming result. A reproduc- 
tion of Japanese encrusted damascening has been obtained 
so smooth and perfect as to verge on monotony. 


PRACTICE. 217 


Engraving on stone or marble is precisely the same as 
metal engraving, with this difference, that as it is practised 
on large surfaces the treatment should be simple, as befits 
the gouge and chisel, the lines broad and characteristic, 
so as to be easily read at a certain distance. Adherence 
to this principle is seen on most medizeval and Renais- 
sance tombstones. 

Serafitio* is obtained hy an inlay of lme coloured 
with black ; when this is dry a white layer is passed over 
it and also allowed to dry; it is then carefully picked 
out with a sharp-pointed style, the black uncovered lines 
forming the design. 

This charming mode of decoration has been prac- 
tised in Italy since the fifteenth century; but other 
nations have only adopted it within comparatively recent 
years. 


VIII.—MAaARrQUETRY AND INLAID Work, Mosalc, 
AND COLOURED PLASTER. 


MARQUETRY is executed by means of thin pieces of 
wood cut with the saw and put together, or glued in the 
patterns they are intended to form. Besides the endless 
variety of indigenous, exotic and stained woods, mate- 
rials such as lvory, bone, tortoiseshell, mother-of pearl, 
brass wire and other metals, are introduced to add point 
and relief, which may be increased by brazing and 
chemical processes, toning down certain portions until 
they are lost, and heightening others so as to obtain as 


* Etching; literally, scratched work. 


218 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


much variety and effectiveness as are compatible with 
the materials employed. 

It is self-evident that with such elements the nature 
of the composition must be restricted to geometrical 
designs formed from the square, the circle, the poly- 
gon or stellate in shape, and if curvilinear patterns are 
adopted, care should be had to avoid angles too acute; 


| NG aft ef Fru eam Goma au ae 
= Ils LEE & =| | = = = = = tera oinometo Serato nom ltr 





fig. 210.—Eastern Wovd Inlay. 


because to the difficulties of fabrication would be added 
a disagreeable possibility to part and split. 

Venice and the East generally afford numerous and 
beautiful examples of wood inlay, wherein geometrical 
forms are the sole elements of decoration, Figs. 210, 211, 
and 212. But flowers, foliage, fruit, animals and human 
figures may be introduced into inlaid wood-work. In 
this case, however, the artist must remember that the re- 
sources at his command being confined to a few flat tints, 
and engraving some of the parts, his composition should 
be well within the limitations of the materials employed. 
The figured compositions of the sixteenth, seventeenth, 


PRACTICE. 219 


and eighteenth centuries may serve as models for this kind 
of work, Fig. 213. It is clear that landscapes and architec- 
tural buildings, sometimes seen in Italian and Flemish 
wood inlay, are incongruous. Similar compositions are of 
necessity incomplete and at variance with a flat treatment. 

Parquetry, or floor-covering, is executed in hard woods 
which should be cut into geometrical forms. arranged in 
very simple patterns: a more elaborate design being 





figs. 211, 2!2.—falian Inlay. 


reserved for the border, Fig. 210. This becomes inlaid 
work when woods of various shapes and colours form 
the design. Another kind of parquetry has been intro- 
duced in this country, consisting of patterns glued down 
upon canvas. Fine woods are now almost exclusively 
used in the form of veneers, the pieces of various colours 
being arranged in the required patterns on the wood 
foundation of the work. The effect may be increased 


220 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


by hand-painting, gilding the edges, mouldings and the 
like. But if veneers may be rightly introduced to add 









































ache 


i 











: qi at 
; ee 1 iv 
Ns, Na 
















































































fig, 213.—Ligured Inlay Work. 


effect and variety, their use ceases to be legitimate when 
beautiful pieces of oak or walnut furniture entirely dis- 
appear under them. 


PRACTICE. 221 


The Chinese and Japanese marquetry is exceedingly 
decorative in character ; it consists of an inlay of ivory, 
mother-of-pearl, jade, china, precious stones and metals 
shghtly raised or sunk on a ground of wood, lacquer 
or marble, which may be inwrought or left plain. 
A similar mode of decoration requires great skill and 
subtlety of arrangement, owing to the easy descent from 
extreme brilliancy to tawdriness and vulgarity. 

André Boule (or “ Buhl,” in England), born in 1642, 
was the first to introduce the peculiar form of veneered 
work which goes under his name. It is composed of 
tortoiseshell and thin sheets of brass; or shell and 
copper, to which are sometimes added ivory and ena- 
melled or precious metals. The plates applied by Boule 
and his followers to ornamental furniture form the 
groundwork and the design alternately; the surface 
being richly decorated, its metallic parts chased, raised 
or embossed with pieces of metal ornament, Fig. 214. 

The almost endless variety of coloured marbles have 
been and are used by the Italians, especially of Rome 
and Florence,* to decorate architecture and furniture. 
Their naturally rich effect may be heightened by the 
introduction of semi-precious stones, such as jasper, 
agate, onyx, lapis-lazuli, bloodstone, etc. But their 
selection should be judicious and restricted to giving 
point and relief, without aiming at faithfully reproducing 
natural and living objects. Roman marble pavements 


* Ma ble inlay is often improperly called ‘‘ Florentine mosaic,” 
but true mosaic is obtained by a totally different process. (Vide 
§ X.) 


222 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


are divided into two classes. The “tesselated,” from 








fig. 214.—Buhl Encrusted Work 


tessera, small cube, and sectile, cut. Of these the 
tesselated is probably the most ancient, and was at first 


PRACTICE. 223 


arranged in chequered patterns of black and white, and 
in process of time in different colours. The earliest 
record of marble inlay is found in the Book of Esther, 
450 B.C., where we read of “beds of gold and silver 
upon a pavement of red, blue, white and black (marble).”’ 
The Greeks excelled in this kind of work, and Pliny 


ae 4 


a 
se nie 


orate a 
ane ) 
ry AX f 
Ee g¢O B= 





Fig, 215.—Ofus Alexandrinum, 


naturally ascribes its ongin to them. The best examples 
of tesselated work occur at Pompeii and Rome ; but very 
fine specimens are found in this country, and wherever 
Roman colonisation extended. The most beautiful 
specimen of sectile pavement is seen in the Pantheon at 
Rome, 30 B.C., where the principal marbles are arranged, 


224 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


each of considerable size, in alternate round and square 
slabs. A third variety commonly used in Italian churches 
from the fourth or fifth century to the thirteenth, is called 
‘Opus Alexandrinum.” It consists of an arrangement of 
small cubes, generally of porphyry or serpentine, com- 
































Fig, 216.—Saracentc Pavement. 


posing geometrical designs, cut in the white or black 
marble slabs, Fig. 215. 

It is the direct forerunner of the richer and more beau- 
tiful curvilinear designs and arabesques of the Saracens, 
Fig. 216, who knew how to unite excellence of form to 
the sense of flatness essential in a surface destined to be 
trodden upon. This principle is set at nought in the 
celebrated pavement executed by Beccafumi, for the 
cathedral of Siena, representing biblical subjects in 


PRACTICE. 225 


coloured marbles of white, grey and black; a certain 
amount of modelling being obtained by shading and 
hatching some of the parts. Beautiful though it be, it 
would have been more appropriate on the walls and 
ceilings, where everybody could see it, whilst now it 
must be covered for the greater portion of the year in 
order to protect it from the feet of the visitors. Near it 
are also compositions by Duccio, which, though inferior 
to Beccafumi’s in style and conception, are more fitting 
the place and surroundings for which they were exe- 
cuted. Indian palaces too are generally enriched with 
marble inlay and carving of exquisite ornament, whilst 
coloured plaster, applied on a ground of stone or other 
plaster, is sometimes used in floor covering ; but as few 
mineral colours will combine with lime, the designs must 
of necessity be very simple and strictly conventional. 


IX.—ENAMELS. 


ENAMEL is a compound fused and vitrified by being 
passed through the furnace, and is generally applied to 
metal. Enamel may be either embedded, c/oisonné, the 
oldest of all, champlevé, translucent and painted.  Cloi- 
sonné enamel, also called “encrusted,” is obtained by 
filling with the enamel, reduced to fine powder, small 
cells formed by means of slender strips of metal fixed or 
welded on to a ground likewise of metal. The piece is 
then placed in the furnace, and when the fusion is com- 
plete each compartment appears set in thin bright wire, 
retaining the enamel and slightly raised upon the plate. 


226 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


It is then withdrawn and allowed to cool slowly; and 
when thoroughly cold it is ground and polished. The 
old artists were very careful in the preparation of their 


fee i 


} 


: le Se 1 % 
> ‘ LEP: ot Ket7 
Die coe = = GZ P “ Visi Z 
iP — ¥ ! = “2 * - s 
3 t WS ams be ag wa 5 C2 NEN 
A 


WA) 9 —S S LBZ 
ww i Ci METCE Gea Yo ee ce 


vot 





fig. 217.—Cloisonné Chinese Enamel. 


enamels, using none but the purest gold, so that the plate 
might not be injured from the action of the fire. 
Cloisonné enamel must not be confused with glass or 


PRACTICE; 227 


precious stones, carefully shaped and set in gold cells, 
found in Egypt as early as 2000 B.c. ‘This system 
is also met with in Assyria and Persia, whence it was 
introduced to Byzantium, whose artists supplied the West, 
especially the Italian peninsula and Sicily, for hundreds 
of years with mosaic and inlay work, enriched with gold 





PM 
CMO : 


—— 


Lig, 218,—Champlevé Enamel. 


grounds and figures gorgeously draped in true Byzantine 
style. 

In the embedded enamels of the Middle Ages, the out- 
line of each figure is formed by the thickness of the me- 
tallic wire. This form is also practised by the Chinese, 
whose work, including animals, flowers, foliage, the rich 
plumage of birds, the metallic glitter of serpents’ scales, 


228 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


undulating water, etc., are encircled in a bright rim, what- 
ever their distance, Fig. 217. 

In champlevé the cells for the reception of the enamel 
are sunk or cut by means of the graver in the plate, itself 
generally of copper. This process is much more labo- 
rious, and the design cannot 
be made as flowing as with 
the flexible gold wire. Cham- 
plevé is generally applied on 
large surfaces ; intervening 
spaces may be left in the metal 
and afterwards engraved, 
forming a pleasing contrast 
with the enamelled designs, 
Fig. 218. 

Another form of embedded 











enamel, very soft and of 
charming effect, is obtained 
by placing two or three gra- 
duated tints of coloured 











3 3 enamel in the same cell. 
Fig. 219.—Repoussé Enamel. ‘This, though satisfactory in 

small objects, cannot be ap- 
plied to those of large dimensions, such as vases, basins, 
and the like. 

There is a very subtle mode of decoration occasionally 
met with in medizeval work. The outline of the design 
is first carefully marked out; the portion composing the 
principal subject is struck up, bosses in the round, half 
or quarter-round being reserved for the high light, such 


PRACTICE. 229 


as the face, neck, hands, feet, etc., which receive a light 
flesh tint ; rich colouring being applied to the accessories, 
such as the tunic, mantle, and portions of the dress, 
whilst the sunken background is inwrought with a 
delicate network of monochrome floriated scrolls, Fig. 
2109. 

The enamelling now practised inEngland is modelled 
or moulded with ornaments and set on gold or other 
metal, and is almost identical with that of the Chinese. 

Beautiful specimens in this style have been produced 
by our metal workers. The composition of the enamel 
is glass made of lead, sand, and borax, coloured by 
means of metallic oxides. The enamel can be rendered 
translucent or opaque at will. The varieties of colour 
exceed two hundred, and new acquisitions are made 
every day. 

The working palette of an enamel artist is almost as 
rich as that of an aquarelist or oil painter, and well 
adapted to delicate designs, modelling of forms and fine- 
ness of detail. Nevertheless, it is well to remember that 
the best enamels produced in France during the reign of 
Francis I.. under the influence of Benvenuto Cellini and 
other great Italian artists, were distinguished by sober, 
harmonious colouring, almost monochrome, of excellent 
effect. 

Painted enamel is applied in successive layers over the 
whole surface of the metal plate, and decorated, as was 
noticed earlier, with fusible metallic oxides. The plate 
is then subjected to the furnace, when the colouring 
matter sinks into the subjacent paste. Enamels are 


230 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


sometimes covered with a thin transparent layer which 
lets in the light at the back, throwing up the whole 
colouring. Dark enamels may be “touched up,” or out- 
lined with a gold or silver rim. Enamels were painted by 
the Italians in the fourteenth century; at first exceedingly 
rudimentary, they improved in process of time, and 
reached their highest perfection at the hands of Pénicaud, 
Courtois, and notably Léonard, surnamed Limousin, from 
Limoges, his birthplace, 1532—-1574. The figures of 
Léonard are generally painted with bright hair and pink 
cheeks, standing out on a dark ground. His high repute 
was shared by his countryman Raymond. whose works 
rank almost as high as his, and fetch enormous prices. 

A coarse kind of enamel on brass was made in England 
in the reign of Elizabeth; its colour is hight and dark 
blue with white, the interstices being inlaid with a pattern 
inrelief. ‘Two candlesticks of this work are preserved in 
the South Kensington Museum, as well as a beautiful 
specimen of translucent enamel upon relief, marked 
Italian, czr, 1580 ; interesting from the fact that it seems 
to have been obtained by the process so minutely de- 
scribed by Benvenuto Cellini in his Memoirs. 

Painted enamel applied on a surface previously struck 
up in relief corresponding with the designs, has almost 
the effect of an enamelled bas-rehef; the mingled bril- 
liancy of its rich blues, reds, greens. and yellows upon 
the shining metal is highly effective and pleasing. 

The art of applying enamel to gold and silver was 
practised in China and India at a very early period, 
whence it passed into Assyria, Persia, probably Egypt 


PRACTICE. 231 


and Europe. The old Etruscans and Greeks used ena- 
mel to enrich their ornaments ; and exquisite specimens 
have been found in their tombs, representing birds, 
doves, peacocks, flowers, and foliage executed with a 
degree of skill and dexterity, making it clear that the 
handicraft had long been in use. A fine collection is 
preserved in the British Museum. 

Brooches, crosses, bracelets, rings, and the like have 
also been found in England and Ireland, showing that the 
art was known during the Roman occupation, if not before. 

Enamel was applied from the tenth to the sixteenth 
century to all manner of things, such as armour, caskets, 
candlesticks, ewers, basins, croziers, book-covers, rings, etc. 
In the present day vases, chalices, chasses, flagons, can- 
delabra, and jewellery are so enriched. 

Of enamels applied to glass or made to imitate jewellery 
and precious stones, the earliest and best examples that 
have been preserved are a blue cup, enamelled and gilt, 
in the Murano collection, cv. 1440, and two fine pieces 
in the British Museum. 

The value of enamels as a means of decoration has 
been felt from the earliest ages by every civilised nation ; 
but, however beautiful, its adoption should be confined 
to designs and “fillings,” leaving the metal foundation 
very apparent. This is what makes cloisonné and incised 
enamels so satisfactory, wherein the forms are introduced 
upon a plain metallic ground; cn the other hand, had 
they extended over the whole surface, the sharp outline 
would have been destroyed, and with it much of its 


effectiveness, Fig. 220. 
th 


232 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


Unfortunately, these enamels are only for the wealthy, 


for they involve great expenditure of skilful and patient 


labour; on the other hand, ample opportunity to study 


them and to compare the various methods by which they 
were achieved are offered to the student in the rich collec- 







S siecle 


Roman XII: 


fig. 220.—Cloisonné and 
Champlevé Enamel, 


tions of Eastern and European 
art enamel, preserved in the South 
Kensington and British Museums. 


X.—MARBLE MOSAIC AND 
ENAMELLED MOSAIC. 


MARBLE mosaic is the art of put- 
ting together small cubes varying 
in size and colour, so as to pro- 
duce a design, care being taken 
to fill the joints with cement in 
order to obtain a smooth surface. 
In good fine work these joints 
are not seen even with the mag- 
nifying glass. 

Old Roman mosaic is entirely 
composed of hard substances, as 


opposed to Byzantine and Venetian mosaic, formed of 


small pieces of plain or enamelled glass, usually set in 


gold, sometimes covered with it;* which superseded 


the former from the fourth century, and was introduced in 
the decoration of churches and the houses of the wealthy. 


* The tesseize found at Pompei! are covered with gold, 


PRACTICE. 233 


Roman mosaics are divided by a learned authority into 
tesselated and sectile, applied to pavements generally ; 
fictile and vermiculated or pictorial, applied to walls and 
ceilings. Fictile mosaic is formed of a compound of 
silex and alumina, coloured by metallic oxides and cut 
to the required size to form the design or picture.* This 
material offered many advantages; it could be obtained 
of any variety of colour or form, and was far less costly 
than the precious marbles. Hence its popularity with 
the Romans from the earliest times in decorating their 
houses with it. 

The best specimens of glass mosaic are found in St. 
Sophia at Constantinople, Sta. Maria Maggiore at Rome, 
St. Vital at Ravenna (some time the seat of the Western 
Empire), St. Marc in Venice, and the Cathedral of 
Moscow. A very fine specimen of this work, 1270, 
decorating the tomb of Edward the Confessor, is pre- 
served in Westminster Abbey. 

The mode of execution of this kind of mosaic is 
_ generally large and coarse; the cubes are irregular in 
shape and divided by very apparent joints, wholly in- 
appropriate to subtle modelling and pictorial treatment. 
mevec, a cays or Ds, Wyatt, “the effect is splendid, 
luxurious, and solemn withal, and unattainable by any 
other means which have been employed in architectonic 
decoration.” 

The mosaics decorating the walls of St. Peter’s at Rome 
date from the fifteenth century ; they are copies of well- 


* The small enamelled cubes used in this work are called 
‘¢smalto ” by the Italians. 


234 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


known pictures, which took years of patient labour and 
much technical skill in their reproduction. The result, 
however, is scarcely satisfactory ; the uneven and rugged 
surface being ill adapted to represent the fine texturé, the 
variety of tones, and the half-tints of an oil-painting. 
But whilst we condemn, we should remember that but 
for the durability of mosaics, no ancient pictorial work 
would be known to us; and that some of these very 
mosaics in St. Peter’s are all that remains of paintings 





Fig, 221.—Mosaic: Light and Dark Colours Contrasted. 


that have been destroyed, and which now we would only 
know from contemporary documents. 

The examples of mosaics which have been preserved 
show an amazing variety of subjects, ranging from a 
broad, flat treatment outlined by a gold rim extending 
to the details, or vigorous modelling produced by the 
juxtaposition of dark and light colours, as red and 
white, or black and white, for example, well seen in our 
Fig. 221, to great delicacy of execution and softness in 
the shades and tints ; when not only flowers, foliage, and 
wreaths, but even the animal and human form may be 
portrayed, Fig. 222, provided due regard is had to the 
material employed. 


PRACTICE. 235 


It is self-evident that the conception of mosaic pave- 
ments must differ from that of mosaics intended for 


| aes J . 


“WF. ‘e e jl a f L L rs .) he ys 
= ils peer | + yy 
| sal) 


P 


aa 
a 


v7 
oN 


KS 
VK 


55 
gwe s- 
PAE 


ly 


AER 


ais 


baegce 
po: SOY 
VS ‘ ns WES > dam ~y 
ene or SIs] 


— 
a 
Ea 


Ze 
eS 


oe? 
Kes 


ke. 
Ps 


cnn 
Dig 
24segn 


vi 
rN 


K 





fig. 222.—Llaborate Mosaic. 


walls or ceilings; and that a subject proper in a vertical 
position will be incongruous when transferred on a flat 


236 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


surface. The basis of all floor-coverings should be 
geometrical, and when floral or animal forms are intro-’ 
duced, their treatment should be flat and purely conven- 


f, = i 
ANS, 





fig. 223.—Assyrian Mosaic Pavement. 


tional, as in Fig. 223, forming the border of an Assy- 
rian pavement now in the British Museum. 

The supposition of archzeologists that Egypt was 
acquainted with mosaics has been placed beyond doubt 


PRACTICE. 237 


by recent discoveries. In a temple built under the 
Ptolemies, czv. 160 B.c., were found “ walls covered with 
encaustic tiles and bricks, of beautiful workmanship, 
the hieroglyphs in some being zzlaid in glass. The 
capitals and cornice were inlaid with bnilliantly coloured 
mosaics.” * 

Mosaics have of late years been made in France and 
in this country, where their rich warm colouring is well 
calculated to enliven our gloomy skies. 


XI.—BLown, Cut, ENGRAVED, AND ENAMELLED 
GLASS. 


THE art of making glass is of very ancient date; glass 
bottles are seen on Egyptian monuments more than four 
thousand years old; whilst paintings of the same period 
exhibit the glass-blowing process. A glass bead has 
been found in an Egyptian tomb, with inscription and 
date, cir. 1500 B.c.; and a glass vase unearthed at 
Nineveh, and now in the British Museum, bears the date 
700 B.c. On the other hand, ancient writers describe 
statues, obelisks, and other large pieces which must have 
been made of glass. Glass was known to the Phcenicians, 
who carried their own and Egyptian art into every coun- 
try bordering on the Mediterranean. ‘The small vases 
that have been discovered in Etruscan and Greek tombs 
bear a strong resemblance to one another, both in form 
and colour; the ground is usually blue, ornamented by 
* Bib. and Arche. Rept. 1880. 


238 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


white, yellow or light blue zigzag lines; a form of or- 
namentation also observed on the pottery brought to 
light by Dr. Schliemann at Hissarlic, in the Troad. 

Glass has been found in windows at Pompei, and 
Pliny enumerates opaque, red, white, and black glass 
made in his time. Glass, imitating precious stones, or 
brightly iridescent like the inside of a shell, coated 
glass, that 1s, composed of different colours, and treated 
like a cameo, was practised by the Romans. ‘The most 
remarkable example of this kind of work is the Portland 
vase, found in a sarcophagus in Rome and now in the 
British Museum, where the student can observe it. 

The system has been revived in Italy, in Germany, 
and notably in Bohemia, where coated glass pieces are 
decorated with landscapes, flowers, and foliage, display- 
ing admirable skill in manipulation, but utterly devoid of 
decorative character. 

The glass-maker 1s obliged to work at such enormous 
speed that a drawing would be superfluous, and he must 
be ready to seize the moment when the material is soft 
and malleable and easily reduced into shape. Hence 
the blending of colours and the ultimate form are de- 
pendent upon his taste, quickness of eye, and dexterity 
of finger. Accessories, such as handles, volutes, spirals, 
dots, beads, figures, flowers and every conceivable device 
are added or soldered on to the vessel] afterwards. 

Glass blowing admits of beautiful curved forms and 
tenuity of substance ; these forms and this character are 
well seen in old Venetian specimens, Fig. 224. Colour- 
less or transparent glass is generally used for drinking pur- 


PRACTICE. 239 


poses; it is quite plain or with a simple rim; but show 
pieces are treated with the greatest freedom both as 
regards design and colouring. Venetian glass may be 
divided into colourless vessels, which are frequently 
decorated with coloured glass, laid on externally on the 
body and on the stem of the vessel; glass of single 
colours of blue or purple mixed before they are worked ; 











Fig. 224.—Venetian Glass. 


gilt and enamelled glass, only suitable for pieces of a 
certain thickness, such as tazze, bowls and the like— 
the oldest specimen of this kind of glass known in 
Europe was manufactured in Venice during the fifteenth 
century ; crackled glass, z.e. glass with a rough surface 
divided irregularly into ridges ; variegated, or marbled 
opaque glass—the most common is a mixture of green 


240 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


and purple, made to resemble precious stones; Aven- 
turine glass obtained by mixing metallic filings, or frag- 
ments of gold-leaf, with melted glass. Millefiori, or 
mosaic glass, is an imitation, Jongo intervallo, of the 
fine old Roman process. Reticulated filigree or lace 
glass, wherein fine threads of coloured glass, sometimes 
milk-white, form the ornamentation, are among the most 
beautiful of the products of Murano. 

Briefly stated, the process is this: hollow rods enclos- 
ing threads of opaque or coloured glass, are placed side 
by side in a mould, and a thin bubble of glass blown 
into the midst so as to adhere to the canes ; this done, 
the whole is once more heated and formed into a hellow 
cylinder, which is then fashioned after the manner of 
ordinary glass. 

The earliest glass-making in England seems to have 
been about the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth. 
Venetian glasses were made in London, under the super- 
vision of Italian artificers, and the old mirrors met with 
in most country houses are of this period. 

Moder Venetian glass, cut to imitate crystal and 
profusely ornamented, is an error of judgment; on a 
different scale and ina different way, so are those colossal 
vases which are made to imitate marble. 

The art of wheel engraving upon glass was practised 
with great success in France. The designs are generally 
delicate and laid on the surface; but on rough thick 
pieces, they are cut into the glass, the engraving or form 
showing right through. When greater variety 1s desired 
hatching is added as in metal engraving. 


PRACTICE. 241 


Cut glass should be of a certain degree of thickness ; 
and may be divided into glass with plain surfaces, the 
easiest of all in manipulation, and glass with carved 
surfaces, z.¢. cut in grooves, triangular flutings, cham- 
fered edges, star facets, bril- 
liant cut, etc.. Fig. 225. 

A. glass-worker should pos- 
sess some education, for it is 
not enough to be able to 
produce a good drawing or an 
elegant shape, he must also 
understand the great and 
almost endless variety of plans 
and geometrical combinations 
that occur in Nature, both in 
precious stones, crystals, etc., 
and in the vegetable king- 
dom, in order to reproduce 
them with truth and feeling. 
Knowledge of these natural 
laws will preserve him against 
the common error of repeating 
the form in the same object, 





knowing that the multiplicity 


Fig, 225.—Cut Glass. 


of its facets will interfere with 
one another and destroy the 
effect. This principle is well kept in view in Fig. 226, 
representing a polygonal salt-cellar, having a single star 
cut at the back, which is reflected on its face, and 
throughout the object. 


242 » DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


Enamelled Persian glass, Sassanid vases and the lamps 
seen in Mohammedan mosques, are generally cast in 
monochromes, or a greenish colour, Fig. 227, with 
touches of gold or silver thoroughly satisfactory. 

Old Venetian, and notably German vessels, are like- 
wise monochrome in character 
and ornamented with escut- 
cheons, shields, armorial bear- 
ings, and every variety of 
device, drawn with much skill 
and delicacy. Some good 
examples are in the British and 
South Kensington Museums. 

We will end this study with 
a word of mention upon glass 
used by the goldsmith with 
metal mountings, either flat or 
in high relief. The associa- 
tion of the two materials is 
reasonable and legitimate, the 
hard substance supplying the 
more fragile with the much 
needed support, whether as 





light net, showing the trans- 


Fig. 226.—Polygonal 
Salt-cellar. 


parent glass right through, cir- 
cling a ring, necklet, girdle, 
etc., or as footing, handle, hilt, suspension hooks, and the 
like. But in order to obtain a decorative result, the 
metal must be distributed all over the work, so as to 
show the perfect agreement of the two materials. 


PRACTICE. 243 


Flint and crown glass, having lead as their basis, are 
extensively manufactured in this country. They are 
more substantial and not so costly as Venetian glass, 
which owes its lightness and strength to the absence 
of lead. 

Rock crystal, found in abundance in Bohemia and 
Scotland, is cut like precious stones and belongs to 
jewellery. In glass candelabra, the effect of which will 
be seen at night, the worker should aim at reproducing 
the prismatic colours, the angles and plans most favour- 
able to scintillation. 

The fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries, both 
in Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Austria, and Poland, 
produced admirable examples of glass mounted in gold 
or silver gilt, or on a metal plate as a foundation, Fig. 
228. The most remarkable specimen was executed in the 
reign of Louis XIII. for the chapel of St. Esprit, now in 
the Louvre collection. We know that coloured glass was 
made in Byzantium and Rome, but owing to its brittle- 
ness few examples have come down to us. The famous 
dish preserved in the Museum of Genoa, which ewas 
brought from Czesarea in 1101 A.D., may be Byzantine 
glass, and probably also a bowl in the British Museum. 


XII.—STAINED, PAINTED, AND ENGRAVED GLASS. 


COLOURED glass is obtained by a mixture of metallic 
oxides, whilst the mass is in a state of fusion. This 
colouring pervades the whole substance, and becomes 
incorporated with it. To “paint” glass, the artist 


244 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


applies, on a colourless or tinted plate, the designs and 
the colours on one or both sides of the plate. These 
colours, a compound of metallic oxides and vitreous 
substances, are true enamels, which assisted by heat 
are fixed upon the plate. 
“Stained” glass was used 
throughout medizeval times, 
in churches and houses of 
importance. At first, it was 
merely a kind of translucent 
mosaic, formed by piecing 
together small cubes of glass 
of a single tint in simple 
geometrical patterns, held 
together by mere strips of 
lead forming the design. 
When greater variety was 
desired, hatching and stip- 
pling were added. Such 
were the windows of the 
eleventh and twelfth centu- 
ries. But towards the begin- 
ning of the Renaissance, 





larger plates of glass were 


fig. 227.—Moorish Lamp. 


introduced, and “ painted” 
windows became general. 
The student will do well to compare the methods that 
divide early ‘‘stained” from “painted” glass. The 
difference is particularly noticeable in the windows dat- 
ing from the twelfth to the fifteenth century; which 


PRACTICE. 245 


despite their multitudinous small compartments, splitting 
up the colour and preventing the diffusion of light, are 
far-away the best decorative glass ever produced. In 
them there is no straining after complexity of effect ; 





fig. 228.—Mounted Glass. 


pieces of required colour were carefully selected to carry 
out a well-conceived design, and the result is artistic and 
pleasing. But in the seventeenth century, when glass- 
blowing was better understood, larger plates were used, 


246 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


as well as elaborate stipplings and hatchings generally 
of a brown colour, which produced a murky and con- 
fused aspect. 

This is the reason why we feel so dissatisfied when we 
contemplate the otherwise very beautiful windows of the 
fourteenth century, with their profusion of browns and 
yellows, which finding no counterpart from without 
strike us as cold and inharmonious. All their beauties 
would have been felt with a-Spanish or Italian landscape 
around them. 

As the object of a window, stained or otherwise, is to 
let the light through, the design should be simple, the 
tints luminous and the lights preponderating, whilst the 
shading and other details should be painted in bold 
lines, Fig. 229. Extensive backgrounds should be 
avoided, and care should be exercised to fill them in 
with tracery and interlacing in semi-tones or “ mono- 
chromes.”” This will effectually prevent the colour from 
outside getting in wholesale and destroying the harmony 
of the composition. The student must not only compose 
his work in view of the building it is meant to decorate, 
but also with regard to the colouring it will reflect and 
let through. ‘Thus, remembering that an English sky is 
never of the depth of an Eastern sky, the blues of his 
window should reflect those outside. In like manner, | 
his greens should harmonise with those around, relieved 
here and there by ‘ bits”’ of colour, flowers, or berries 
growing in our fields and hedgerows. 

To prevent colours from invading or “ eating ” into 
each other, black lines or intervening white spaces are 





indow , 


ss W 


—Fainted Gla 


229 


Lig. 


248 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


introduced. These spaces are essential in deeply 
coloured and highly ornamented glass. 

German work of the sixteenth century is the best 
known. It consists chiefly of vessels of a greenish cast 
ornamented with paintings in enamel, such as escut- 
cheons and armorial bearings. The designs show 
much talent and delicacy, Fig. 230. Roman artists 
under Byzantine influence made use of glass raised 
in bosses set in simple work, the circle or the square 
forming the basis of the design. This method was 
revived in Flanders, and especially in Germany, during 
the Early Decorated period. The patterns are invari- 
ably geometrical, and often very rich and beautiful in 
form; the lead, far from detracting from the decorative 
character of the composition, serves to accentuate and 
enhance its effect. 

England, Flanders, and France afford the most ad- 
mirable examples of medizeval stained windows ; amongst 
others Fairford, in Gloucestershire, and University Col- 
lege, Oxford, may be cited. 

In France, probably no painted windows excel those 
of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. The art declined 
towards the end of the seventeenth century. About a 
hundred years ago efforts were made to revive this fine 
work, but with small results. It has now entered upon a 
new phase, and by reverting to good traditions, a fair 
prospect of a lasting and well-deserved success may be 
predicted for it. , 

In warm countries, coloured windows are formed of 
small pieces of glass, set in marble or plaster work, with 


249 


PRACTICE, 


openings which slant towards the room, allowing the 


inmates to see abroad unseen. 


The rays of light striking 


Pays Lays Tis ey 

OS RA SRS 

POY FOL FST FOL EGES 
Sole pleotiete Tes 


Oe 


eS 
& 
GD;5 Ss Ss & HF 
oY ee Ot LOH Foy 
CB: Ds: END scam, 
at 
EUS 
CB Gs SE Mg sa 5 SEF 
Me MisVeenueegs 
POL OI OA FOI LY 


Pe nn SS NSF 


AX 


Ly 
a 








WX? 


x) 


LBS UT ESS TONS SBS ESS BE SERS = 


A Ae 
A 26, 


PL ECLOL OTOL 
Cy DS Dame D cere @, 


OLY | 
ALS blo 


fig. 230.—German Stained Glass. 


simultaneously on the white marble and the coloured 


glass produce a well-tempered effect. 


250 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


The elaborate medallion windows of the thirteenth 
century were generally reserved for large churches and 
cathedrals. They are distinguished for rich and _har- 
monious colouring: albeit by reason of the diminutive 
size of the glass pieces, the subjects are either carried 
over the joints, or made too small to be distinct at a 
certain distance. In the fourteenth century the windows | 
divided into small compartments superseded the old 
medallion scheme, and the subjects were piled one upon 
another with sometimes a flat canopy. 

Engraving upon white glass by means of hydrofluoric 
acid has become very popular, and may be obtained at 
comparatively small cost. This acid eats into the sur- 
face of the glass, following the pattern traced upon it, 
and scoops out the lines of the form. 


XIII.—Stucco, PLASTER, PLASTERED CANVAS, IMITA- 
TION STONE, IMITATION WOOD, AND LACQUERED 
WoRK. 


Stucco* and plaster enter largely into construction, in 
which they are extremely useful and ornamental ; obtained 
too at little cost of labour or of material, taking the 
form with admirable readiness. Hence their value 
depends upon the degree of excellence of the fabrication. 

The moulds used to press in stucco or paste are either 
of clay, wax, sand and loam, or plaster of Paris. When 
the figure is not ornamented at the sides, the moulding 


* Stucco is usually composed of plaster, lime, chalk, pounded 
alabaster and marble. 


PRACTICE. 251 


is done as a whole; but parts in relief, such as the head, 
the shape of the dress, of the shield, of the helmet, etc.. 
have to be done separately by means of false cores or 
movable pieces. 

“Template moulds” (/eArbdden) are used to mould 
patterns with ornamental work on the sides, especially in 
cases where many castings have to be made of the 
same pattern. Template moulds may be used several 
times. 

The usefulness of plaster has been felt by most 
nations of antiquity. Decorative plaster was used in 
Rome and Pompeii wherever high relief was desired, 
such as vaulted ceilings, friezes, cornices, capitals, and 
the like. It is well known that the Byzantines and the 
Italians throughout the Middle Ages made use of plaster 
to decorate their palaces and houses. In the hands of 
Pastorino da Siena, Giovanni da Udine, and Alessandro 
Vittorio, plaster was fashioned into the most delicate and 
exquisite ornaments, or cut and kneaded in the mass, like 
sculpture. 

But the art reached its perfection with the Moors of 
Spain. On a foundation of bricks, pise, wood, or reed 
grass, they produced works at once light and elegant 
in form, well plastered over and ornamented with gold 
and silver, with purple and green, and blue of marvellous 
effulgence and effectiveness, Fig. 231. 

Who doubts that if the Alhambra and the Alcazar 
had been built in marble that their effect would have 
been increased tenfold? But when we consider the 
means that were employed and the charming result that 


252 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


was obtained, we can but admire the skill, the dexterity 
and artistic feeling which they display in so remarkable a 
degree. 

Considerations of expediency have rendered plaster 


= 
i. 


° 
tt YY \t 
(ENE 
eee 
is; 


AT 


it 
(NS 
Hf 


‘ 
ba Sy 
ie \; 





Fig. 231.—Moorish Plaster or Stucco Work. 


very popular in modern times ; its composition has been 
much improved, and by colouring and polishing a fair 
imitation of marble has been obtained. We do not 


PRACTICE. 253 


advocate imitations as a rule, yet it is difficult to see 
what other means within reach of everybody could be 
found, on the whole, productive of the same effective 
result. Could the world-famed ceilings of St. Mark’s 
Palace in Venice, for example, be reproduced in any 
other way? and who but princes and millionaires 
would be able to afford the enormous cost of well- 
seasoned wood of sufficient size for a similar work ? 
Few are rich enough to decorate their houses with 
marble or stone, and we think that if plaster is made to 
look what it really is, little can be urged against its 
employment. 

When several castings are to be made of the same 
model care should be had to keep. the outline sharp and 
well-defined albeit without undue fineness, since the 
object will be seen at a certain distance, and each 
successive casting will blunt the edges and indentations, 
which layers of paint applied to preserve the form will 
increase. Indeed, all the productions are better for a 
good coat of paint, and plaster being naturally brittle 
breaks off easily unless so protected. 

Shall we do more than mention imitation stone, imita- 
tion marble, imitation wood, imitation terra-cotta, which 
people our gardens and cemeteries? The reason of 
their adoption is so self-evident that we may well leave 
them to the individual taste of those who believe that 
inferior ornament is better than no ornament at all. 

Carton-pierre ornaments are made of paper-pulp mixed 
with whiting and glue, cast in plaster moulds, and dried 
gradually» ‘They are admirably adapted for large deco- 


254 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


rations, on account of their lightness and durability. 
Pasteboard has been used in France for nearly fifty 
years; in England it has also been applied to ornaments 
with much taste and skill. 

Still better are papier-maché ornaments, which are 
obtained by a mixture of paper pulp, glue, and resin, 
pressed into the mould or between dies, as well as by 





Fig. 232.—Chinese Lacquer Work 


pasting sheets of paper on models. These articles when 
dried are varnished, japanned, and ornamented. Plas- 
tered canvas is employed in the decoration of ceilings, 
and consists of steeping tow in plaster and then mould- 
ing it. This method produces light casts. 

Of all the lacquered work made, that executed by the 
Chinese and Japanese is the most beautiful. Their old 
lacquered cabinets, trays, boxes, and the like fetch high 


PRACTICE. 255 


prices. They are distinguished by excellence of work- 
manship, finish, and admirable decoration. The best 
kind of lacquered work originated with China; the 
designs are produced in bronze and gold powders of 
various tints, the figures raised and modelled on the 
ground of the work, Fig. 232. 

In England, at the beginning of this century, an 
artist of the name of Booth reproduced Japanese and 
Chinese ornamentation of such admirable impasto that it 
is difficult for the best judges to distinguish it from real 
Chinese or Japanese work. : 


XIV.—POTTERY MADE ON THE WHEEL, MOULDED 
AND STAMPED TERRA-COTTA, ORNAMENTED POT- 
TERY, KAOLIN, STONEWARE, AND MONUMENTAL 
TERRA-COTTA. 


Ciay is a material extensively distributed over the surface 
of the earth; its plastic nature is easily recognised, 
even by the rudest savage—abundantly illustrated by the 
specimens brought to light or found among uncivilized 
tribes of the present day. 

The art of the potter is so remote, that most early 
nations ascribe their knowledge of it to the direct inter- 
vention of a benevolent deity. Be that as it may, frag- 
ments of pottery have been found in tombs and in the 
ruined cities of prehistoric peoples, wherever excavations 
have been made. ‘The sacred and classical writings 
contain numerous allusions to the potter and the various 
methods employed by him. That the manufacture of 

12 


256 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


pottery had attained a considerable degree of excellence 
in what we consider very early times, is shown by the 
multitudinous examples furnished by Egypt, Babylonia, 
Assynia, Persia, China, Greece, and Etruria, including 
glazed, coloured, and enamelled pottery. 

Besides the vase and its derivatives, utensils for daily use 
weré made of unbaked and baked clay or *terra-cotta,”’ 
such as large amphorz, to hold oil, wine, water, grain, 
and the like; tablets, to graven their histories; lamps 
and candlesticks, boxes for ornaments, coloured beads, 
statuettes, and architectonic decorations, as may be seen 
in all our museums. The Campana collection contains 
some admirable and interesting specimens,* Fig. 238. 

Pottery, as distinct from porcelain, is formed of clay 
(mixed with marl of argillaceous and calcareous nature 
and sand), and may be divided into “ soft” and ‘ hard,” 
according to the nature of the composition and the 
degree of heat to which it has been subjected in the 
kiln. 

Pottery may be ‘“ unglazed,” always porous, “ lustrous,” 
“glazed,” and “enamelled.” The foundation of all 
these varieties is appreciably the same, and the “ paste” 
or “body,” is formed by hand, or on the wheel, but 
when composed of pounded lava, or broken up earthen- 
ware and clay, it is impressed into moulds and decorated 
like any other pottery. What is known in England as 
earthenware is always soft, whilst stone-ware and queen’s 
ware arehard. ‘The hardness of the paste may be ascer- 


* The excellent decorative character of these compositions is 
somewhat destroyed by profuse ornamentation. 


PRACTICE, 257 


tained by a knife or file, on some part of the vessel free 
from glaze. 

The fine black glaze of old Greek vases (700 to 200 
B.C.) and the red glaze of Samian bowls and dishes made 
in later times under Roman influence, and found in 
England on the site of Roman stations, have never been 





fig, 233. - Greek Pottery. 


surpassed. The ‘‘ matt” colours found on Greek vases 
of the best period (450 to 350 B.C.) are not true enamels 
or glazes, but as in early Egyptian, Assyrian, and Etruscan 
pottery, are only coloured clay, fired at a very low tem- 
perature, decorated sometimes with raised lines or slips 
extremely friable, Fig. 233. 

The Arabs established, as early as the beginning of 


258 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


the twelfth century, manufactures of lustred pottery in 
Spain, and fragments of Roman and Moorish pottery 
of the tenth and eleventh centuries have been found 
in several places, Fig. 234. Very beautiful speci- 
mens of Hispano-Moresque 
ware are in the South Ken- 
sington Museum. | 
The application of the lathe 
on which the clay was placed 
and on which it revolved, pro- 
ducing combinations of oval, 
spherical, and cylindrical forms, 





is met with in all countries and 





ces 2S =a nationalities the most diverse. 
ie i pce h tea In comparatively modern 
4, Lys times Italian and _ French 
‘ manufacturers have produced 
pottery coloured and  orna- 
mented with admirable designs 
—— in relief, Fig. 235. 
Pe, Porcelain is distinguished, 
si Promenne like pottery, by “soft” and 
“hard paste,” the softness 
being due to the proportion of silex. Porcelain is 
composed of two substances, the one fusible, which 
produces transparency, and the other infusible. Soft 
porcelain is of various elements, the composition of 
which varies in the different factories. Hard porcelain 
is of Oriental origin and is made of the white clay 
called kaolin, which is found in its natural state in 


PRACTICE, 259 


China, but which may be artificially composed by chemi- 
cal ingredients. Porcelain is “unglazed,” “biscuit,” 
“glazed,” and “ enamelled.” 

The porcelain of China and Japan is frequently oval, 
square, or polygonal in shape, of every gradation of 





Ka 


Cavannt) 
SKS) 4 Ue 
Shs Us y 


| 


\ 
ae 





nae on) 
ee] / 
7 Se 





= 


& 
ar 





: La GAONE WOW 
Tee : 
Fig. 235.—Rouen Art Pottery. Fig. 236.—Fapanese Pottery. 


colour, reproducing flowers and fruits, beasts, and birds, 
and shells, and other natural forms. The grotesque 
dragons and reptiles, the fish and gigantic birds, as 
indeed the whole series of monstrous objects seen on this 
ware, are but traditional representations and symbols of 
their ancient mythology. 

The porcelain of Japan is of a more brilliant white, 


260 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


and of a better clay than that of China. The Japanese 
have applied embedded enamel and lacquer to some of 
their wares and have sought for endless variety of effect. 
Their jars and vases are of every conceivable form; 
shallow, cylindrical, round, square, oviform, etc. In orna- 
mental pieces, besides men, birds, and animals, other 
designs are introduced, such as a pine cone, a section 
of bamboo, a gourd, a fire-fly, a swallow, a cluster 
of wisteria, and the like, reproduced with great truth 
and fidelity, Fig. 236. 

Pottery should not be characterised by extreme delicacy 
of make, nor should -designs proper to metal be repro- 
duced in the very different material of clay. This im- 
portant principle is not always observable in the Oiron 
ware ; wherein the artists, eager to show their technical 
skill, have overloaded their pieces with figures, brackets, 
masks and the like, or with interlacings of yellow, blue 
and green, picked out with gold, investing the whole with 
a bronze-like aspect. But we cannot too often insist that 
earthenware should keep a mean course between the 
massiveness of stone and the sharpness of outline suit- 
able to metal. It should be noted in this place, that 
pottery does not contract like porcelain in being sub- 
jected to high temperature in the furnace. 

Accessories in high relief, handles, for example, stems 
and masks, are kneaded or moulded apart, and applied 
to the vessel by means of a soft paste, and the whole 
fired again. These accessories are sometimes in metal, 
and act as supports to the piece, cspecially when the 
paste or body is soft. For the same reason we see old 


PRACTICE, 261 


and rare pieces mounted in gold or silver-gilt ; the joints 
of which are always well defined and carefully riveted. 
The “rustic plates’ of Bernard Palissy, decorated 
with reptiles, fish, frogs, and small insects, often moulded 
from nature, and placed on beds of moss, ferns, and 
leaves, are certainly open to objection on pieces meant 
to hang on a wali, yet it is difficult to withhold our 






pe GD = 


= ef! A 
= fie SSE ES VN SSS 


Oy 


‘ Dey i 


“ Sos mis =e y - : 
ely ae 
sa Hk ey reais 


ay, 














fig. 237.—German Tea. -pot. 


admiration from an artist whose intimate knowledge of 
nature is so vividly reproduced in his work. 

Far more objectionable are those contemporary ce- 
ramic productions, profusely decorated with flowers in 
high relief, in imitation of the delicate forms and tender 
colouring of nature utterly improper to the material. 

Numbers of Etruscan, Arezzan and German vessels, 
are decorated with graven or stamped designs, or “slips ” 


262 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


applied to the piece when the clay was still soft, Fig. 237. 
Those that were found in tombs (Etruria) are all porous. 

Admirable busts and statuettes were executed in Italy 
during the Middle Ages ; whilst German stoves have been 
marked by good designs for hundreds of years. In Italy 
terra-cotta entered largely into the decoration of palaces, 








Fig. 238.—Architecture: Terra-cotta, Romanesque Period. 


churches, and conventicles; amongst other specimens 
may be cited the hospital of Pistoja and the admirable 
medallions of Luca and Andrea della Robbia. Much 
of the effect of the Certosa of Pavia is lost, on account 
of the superabundance of its ornamentation. Architec- 
tonic terra-cotta has been revived in Germany, and in 
France; whilst in England good examples of terra-cotta 


PRACTICE. 263 


are met with in buildings and churches erected within 
the last thirty years in London and all over the country. 


XV.—COLOURED TERRA-CoTTA, PAINTED , POTTERY, 
PORCELAIN AND LAvA, ARCHITECTONIC TERRA- 
Cotta, AND GLAZED TILES. 

THE simplest method practised in colouring earthenware 
consists in painting in vitreous colours on a surface 
previously enamelled and fired in a muffle kiln. But it 
sometimes happens that owing to the paste or subjacent 
enamels being hard, the firing is insufficient to amalgam- 
ate the glaze and the body of the piece, so that the colours 
remain dry and rough on the surface. 

Italian ‘‘ majolica”’ was executed in this manner; ze. 
on the red clay was laid an even opaque white coating 
which served as ground for the pattern, painted with 
yellow, blue, green, and sometimes a brownish red, 
encircled in black lines and covered with translucent 
lead glaze, which imparted to the ware the indescent 
lustre by which the mixed majolica is distinguished? 
Opaque glazing, or white enamel composed of tin, has 
always been ascribed to Luca della Robbia; and 
although it is pretty clear that this glaze was known in 
Italy before his time, and that traces of it have been 
found in Egypt, Babylonia, and Assyria, dating back 
thousands of years, it is nevertheless true that he did 
invent a pearly white enamel different in composition 
from any employed before, which gave the “‘mezza ma- 
jolica””’ the beautiful and rich effect known as “ lustred,” 
or ‘‘metallic ware.” 


264 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


In early majolica, we find, in some instances, sgrapjittt 
or lines sunk in the white “ slip,” or coating ; buff, green, 
ruby and gold lustred grounds are also met with. These 
make the tracing of the design more difficult than the 
white foundation of earlier times ; whilst lustrous grounds 
changing at every angle at which the hght is reflected 
from the surface create a rich and brilliant variety. 

If the palette of the artist on pottery is somewhat 
restricted, this is amply compensated in the durability 
of the vitrified enamels, which should be unhesitatingly 
painted in the vivid deep blues, and reds, yellows and 
greens of the ancient ceramists of all countries, rather 
than in the dull, murky colours used in the products of 
the present day. 

We have seen, earlier in this volume, that coloured 
glazed bricks and tiles were extensively employed as 
enrichment to the palaces and temples of Egypt, of 
Babylonia, and Assyria; and later to those of Persia, 
notably during the Sassanid dynasty ; and that painted 
earthenware for domestic use was also manufactured is 
equally certain, for numerous examples have been found 
at Persepolis, Susa, and other cities, Fig. 194. 

Architectonic terra-cotta has not been found in Greece, 
where marble was plentiful and only needed to be 
quarried and cut into shape or laid out in simple pat- 
terns. But coloured and glazed earthenware was made 
use of in the West during the Middle Ages (from the 
eleventh to the thirteenth centuries), to adorn church 
towers, fagades, windows and the like. Slabs of por- 
phyry, of serpentine and coloured marbles, were frequently 


PRACTICE, 265 


introduced in the same building along with small pieces 
of earthenware, in the manner of a subdued albeit charm- 
ing mosaic, seen in the beautiful facade of Sta. Maria 
Maggiore at Rome. In England also, some of the 
artistic skill shown in missal-painting and wood-carving 
of this period seems to have extended to tiles used for 
the floors, and still occasionally found in some of our 


; t My 
Vy 


a 
= 
SS 


Sis 
SSeS 





Fig. 239.—Persian Dish. 


country churches. These tiles are characterised by good 
design and good manipulation, and were invariably made 
in monasteries where Roman traditions were preserved. 
Earthenware seems to have been made at Bristol as far 
back as Edward the First; be that as it may, potteries 
were flourishing there, at Leeds, Lowestoft and Yar- 
mouth in the time of Elizabeth, whilst at Lambeth 


266 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


stone and Delft ware were carried on from 1640 until 
recent years. Fulham also, some years later, produced 
a salt-glazed ware, very hard and compact in texture, 
ornamented with bands, leaves, flowers, or sometimes 
with medallions. The earliest specimens extant of stone 
ware are jugs for ‘‘sack,” or “ claret,” 1642—1659, 1662. 
The name of Wedgwood, the greatest of English potters, 
marks a new era in ceramic products. After many 
attempts he succeeded in discovering, first the green 
glaze, seen on dessert plates of that date (1755); then 
the fine cream-coloured ware known as “ Queen’s 
ware,” “encaustie painting,’ in imitation of the ancient 
Etrusean vases, besides a white terra-cotta proper for 
bas reliefs; and lastly the beautiful ‘‘ jasper ware.” This 
last is a white biscuit of great delicacy, which, like glass, 
receives and incorporates through the whole substance 
the enamel colours with which it is painted. The jasper 
ware is admirably adapted to subjects in relief; the 
ground being coloured, whilst the figures are of the 
purest white. 

In France, Palissy, the factory of Oiron in the sixteenth 
century, and later, those of Rouen, Nevers, Moutiers, 
Strasburg, and other places, produced exquisite specimens 
of decorated earthenware, Fig. 242. The body of the 
Oiron pottery is real pipeclay, very fine and white, so 
that it does not require, like the coarser Italian clay, to 
be concealed by opaque enamels. ‘The decorations con- 
sist of interlacings and arabesques ‘‘cut into,” not painted, 
upon the body of the piece; the cavities being filled in 
with coloured pastes, so as to produce a smooth surface 


ee 


PRACTICE. 267 


and fine inlaying, like the damascening of metal work. 
The inlaid ornaments were produced by peculiar tools 
and stamps. 

Lustred ware, or golden pottery, was manufactured 
in Arabia, whence the industry was imported into Spain, 
Sicily, and the Balearic Islands. Its chief characteristics 
are the brilliant prismatic hues, “which caused it to be 
much prized by popes, cardinals, and princes of this 
world, who were astonished that such noble work could 
be made of clay.” Great variety of ornamentation is 
displayed in the pieces that have been found of this 
earthenware ; smooth surfaces alternate with patterns in 
relief, with arabesques, green and black, on a white-pearl, 
green or golden ground ; or with inscriptions in Arabic 
characters ; and animal forms, such as the horse, hawk, 
antelope, etc., are introduced with flowers and leaves 
arranged in diaper patterns. The colours employed on 
pottery of Persian origin are bright, but low in tone in 
Moorish-Hispano ware. The student will find some 
noble specimens of this earthenware in the South Ken- 
sington Museum. 

The eternal principle which should regulate the pro- 
duction of all ornament is discarded in the ceramic 
products of Francesco Xanto (1530—1540) and Orazio 
Fontana, both of Urbino (15101560), who painted 
many of their pieces after designs by Raphael, Giulio 
Romano, and others. Judges of high repute hold that 
monotony, lack of mvention, faulty make and general 
want of care, are the leading features of Xanto. But 
before the student subscribes to so sweeping a condem- 


268 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


nation he should examine the brilliant and beautiful 
dish marked with his name in the South Kensington 
collection, and such specimens of the Urbino School 
which from tim2 to time come to the hammer and are 
to be viewed at Christie’s. 

The glazed iridescent earthenware known as “ma- 
jolica” was first practised at Urbino in 1350, Figs. 240 
and 241. Other manufactures soon sprang up. at Flo- 
rence, Siena, Faenza, Gubbio, Venice, and Deruta, 
where admirable majolica was made during the fifteenth 
and sixteenth centuries. * 

Floor tiling should be laid out in simple geometrical 
patterns after the Persian and Moorish (Alhambra) 
method ; and when animal and floral forms are intro- 
duced they should be as conventional as possible in order 
to obtain the much-needed sense of flatness, essential in 
a surface destined to be trodden upon, Fig. 244. 

Although few ancient lustred tiles have found their way 
from Persia to Europe, they are sufficient to enable us 
to judge of their intrinsic beauty and appropriateness 
for embellishing the domes and walls of mosques and 
palaces. Some are bronze-coloured, some are iridescent 
or golden, others are inscribed in Kufic characters or 
cross and star shaped, and fitted together so as to 
form a pattern, the stars of one colour and the crosses 
of another, as may be seen in the South Kensington 

* In the present day, the workshops of Florence, after much 
patient study, have suc eeded in reviving and reproducing majolica, 
s'milar in artistic character to those of the old schools of Urbino, 


Gubb‘o, &c. Nor have they been less successful in their reproduc- 
tins of the Hispano-Moresque and lustred or golden pottery. 


PRACTICE. 269 


collection. It is self-evident that the form must not be 
made to extend beyond one tile, nor run over the 





Fig. 240.—Urbino Majolica, 


“joints.” These should be carefully drawn and well 
marked. Lava, it is true, affords slabs of large dimen- 
sions, susceptible of receiving varied ornament, but its 


270 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


surface is so hard that enamel colours cannot sink into 
nor mingle with it, the result being a hard and disagree- 
able aspect. 

What has been said with regard to ornamental pottery, 
fired at a low temperature, applies equally to hard porce- 
lain. A slight examination shows that it is more crude 





fig. 241.—ltaian Iridescent Majolica. 


and coarse in texture, and that its surface lacks smooth- 
ness and brilliancy. This inferiority is apparent even in 
the splendid hard Sevres of the present day, which, although 
it allows of greater variety of colours, cannot compare 
with old ‘pate tendre” or “‘soft’’ Sevres—perhaps the 
most. beautiful porcelain ever produced. The degree of 


PRACTICE. 271 


popularity attaching to hard porcelain is accounted for by 
the comparatively low prices fetched by the article. 

It is necessary to go back to a remote period to find 
when porcelain was first practised in China and Japan. 
The specimens that were introduced in Europe by traders 
trafficking with those two countries, Fig. 243, were found 
so beautiful and were so much admired that experts 1m- 


; 
5 exMijon 


Cag 22.))) eee 
CO ze OEY 
Sele” 


oe |i 





fig, 242.—Rouen Pottery. 


mediately set to work to try and discover their composi- 
tion. But although very beautiful ware was produced 
by Boettger in Germany, at Delft, St. Cloud, Sevres, 
Rouen, and other localities, no real porcelain was made 
until the beginning of the eighteenth century. This 
restriction is equally applicable to the translucent ware, 


272 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 





fig. 243.—Chinese Pottery’. 


PRACTICE. 273 


made in Venice in the course of the fifteenth century, and 
in Florence @1575—-1580) under the Medicis. 

In England, Chelsea, Derby, Bow, and Worcester were 
started about the middle of the eighteenth century. But 
as on the Continent, here also efforts to produce real 
china were not successful until twenty years later. Eng- 
lish porcelain was at first purely imitative, borrowing its 





fig. 244.—Lfloor Tiling. 


forms from Oriental specimens and its colouring from 
those of Dresden and Sévres. Some pieces, however, 
wherein native talent asserted itself, can hold their own 
against the best Sévres. But the universal degradation 
into which art fell towards the end of the eighteenth 
century, and which, with some fluctuations, extended to 
the middle of the present, is very apparent in China. 
To forms of a European character were associated Ja- 


274 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


panese designs; Greek and Etruscan vases were painted 
all over with realistic flowers and verdure ; or again with 
historical subjects, portraits, and landscapes, running 
impartially on the body and cover of a vase, or the centre 
of a dish. But the influx of Eastern art products has 
fortunately induced a change. for the better, and intro- 
duced a more conventional treatment in decoration, 


XVI. — WROUGHT, STAMPED, AND CuT- LEATHER, 
BINDING LEATHER, CLOTH, WAFLED PAPER, AND 
SADDLERY. 


WE will now turn our attention to some of the methods 
used in preparing ornamental leather. 

The art of cutting leather by means of a penknife was 
practised by the Moors of Spain as far back as the 
eleventh century, and to the present day Cordova leather 
is justly prized and in great demand. At first the decora- 
tion of leather into patterns was executed with the pen- 
knife only ; to this succeeded pointed tools or puncheons, 
by means of which hatched, sunk, and raised ornament 
could be traced. But this process involved much patient 
labour, and in the present day the stamping-machine does 
the work with far greater expedition and at much less 
expense. 

When variety is desired, beads, gold, silver, silk em- 
broidery, and colours are introduced in the pattern, and 
even a white glazing on metallic backgrounds. But such 
ornamentation, although very effective, must be judici- 
ously used so as not to destroy the natural aspect of the 
material. Leather was used in the sixteenth century in 


PRACTICE, 275 


Span, France, England, and Flanders, to decorate walls 
and furniture, its low tone harmonising well with oak 
panelling and wainscoting with which it was associated. 
Its effect, though a little severe, is satisfactory ; for it 





Fig. 245.—Wvought Leather. 


imparts to the room so decorated an air of comfort and 
grandeur that are not without charm, Fig. 245. 

Books were at first bound in metal or wood, with or 
without metal fittings, not unfrequently finely incised or 
carved ; but leather or parchment bindings are not met 
with until the fifteenth century. In the sixteenth, Maioli in 
Italy, Grolier in France, and later Pasdeloup, le Gascon 


276 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


and Beauzonet, produced bindings that are models of that 
kind of work, Fig. 247. However, artistic bookbinding 
need not be confined to leather only; canvas and wafled 





fig. 246.—/mitation Leather. 


paper may be made to look decorative, if the treatment is 
such as the nature of the material seems to indicate. A . 
book-cover is not the place for a picture or a print; the 
proper place for these, if the character of the work requires 


PRACTICE. 277 


it, is inside the book, whilst the outward ornament should 
prepare the reader for its contents. The title too should 
be easily read and appropriate, the emblems broadly out- 
lined in low tones. It is needless to say that the objec- 
tionable covers seen at railway stations and about yule time 
should be carefully avoided. Their only object is to 
catch the eye, and therein, it must be confessed, they 
abundantly succeed. 

Richly decorated saddles, trappings, cases, sheaths, 
flasks, and packing cases were made with leather, exqui- 
sitely ornamented, throughout the Middle Ages, the fit- 
tings being generally of fine workmanship. Leather 
frames, leather inkstands, and the like, so much in vogue 
a few years ago, have fortunately disappeared. 

Thick’ leather of good quality is very dear and can 
only be procured by the wealthy. This consideration 
has no doubt induced imitation leather, or “ leather cloth ”’ 
as it is called, which can be made in paper, ground cork, 
and the like, by the stamping machine. This machine 
not only cuts patterns of the required shape but colours 
them also. If this is an evil it would be hard to say, 
and we think that if the nature of the material is preserved 
the objection against its use will not exist. Our illustra- 
tion, Fig. 246, is a good example of imitation Cordova 
leather. 

A few words upon “stamped fabrics,” of universal use 
in dress and furniture, will not seem inappropriate in this 
place. They are obtained by simple pressure of the 
stamp or block upon the velvet tissue, and the “ matt” 
colours produced upon the natural tint of the texture by 


DECORATIVE. COMPOSITION. 


N 


the block, are similar in their effect to those obtained by 


The outline of the pattern in all 


cut and piled velvet. 


eS A SD Ri PETIT ID AA ke 





iQ 


—TItalian Bookbindt: 


247, 


fig. 


, and the details graduated from 


1stinct 


fabrics should be d 


ing exercised to make 


. 


the outer edge to the centre, care be 


ing joints. 


the pattern exactly fit on the succeed 


PRACTICE. 279 


XVII.—CoLouRED PAPERS, COLOURED CALICOES, 
AND PRINTED FABRICS. 


THE early method of paper-hangings was by “ stencil- 
ling,” in which a piece of pasteboard, with patterns cut 
out in it, was laid on the paper, when water colours were 
freely applied with the brush to the back of the paste- 
board, so that the colours came through the openings 
and formed the pattern upon the paper. ‘This process 
was repeated several times, and was only obtained at 
great expenditure of labour. It was replaced by calico- 
printing, which is universally applied to the manufacture 
of wall-paper. 

In printing by hand a large number of blocks is re- 
quired, as each of the various shades and colours is pro- 
duced by a separate block, which has to be renewed as 
soon as the colour is exhausted. These blocks consist of 
engraved pieces, each of which has four pin-points at the 
corners, as guide-marks for placing the succeeding blocks 
in the right spot. Within the last thirty years coloured 
paper has been made by machinery, and mills exist in 
various parts of the country, London being the chief 
centre. The process is as follows: A ground colour is 
first laid evenly over the paper, upon which the coloured 
design is printed by the machine, it being impressed by a 
series of blocks or rollers placed round a drum, each 
roller having its own colour box, sieve, &c. 

A layer of distemper, z.c. whitelead or whiting, ground 
in Rates: " generally laid on the various coatings of 


280 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


paint; sometimes the surface is glazed, lustred, and 
sateened, or relieved with gold and wafled by the rotary 
machine. 

The labour and skill bestowed on French decorative 
papers are stupendous, and the result, alas! is not satis- 
factory. ‘There is no doubt as to the drawing being 
good and the colouring sound, but these elaborate com- 
positions with landscapes, gorgeous flowers, scrolls, and 
every conceivable ornament, even to elaborate figure com- 
positions, are but so much labour lost, inasmuch as it is 
sought to reproduce in the fragile material of paper, 
realistic paintings proper to canvas. 

A wall-paper should be harmonious in colour and 
unobtrusive in design, so as to give repose to the eye. 
A paper presenting violent contrasts in colour and 
strongly marked lines, affords the worst possible back- 
ground for pictures and the general arrangement of the 
apartment. For besides inequalities of surface, according 
as the light strikes the paper from above or from below, 
its spotty effect jars with all the other objects in the 
room, and induces incongruity and bewilderment. Simi- 
larly columns, friezes, pilasters, figures, and the like are 
bad; but foliage and flowers if conventionally treated, 
are not only permissible but legitimate. 

Much care is required in cutting and printing the 
strips so that they shall exactly fit and join on to the 
succeeding ones. Another point to be observed is the 
pattern of the paper, which should not consist of too 
minute details which are lost at a distance. This prin- 
ciple is well seen in our Fig. 248. 


PRACTICE. 281 


Papers made to imitate marble, wood, terra-cotta, and 





Fig. 248.—Wall Paper. 


the like, are varnished after being hung. If these papers 
instead of being “marbled,” were arranged in simple 


282 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


geometrical patterns, after the manner of our oilcloths, 
and coloured in rich warm single tints, they would at 
once become decorative and pleasing. And here we 
may note that in England since the revival of art, sound 
ideas about decoration have been acquired ; and paper- 
hangings and fabrics of all kinds, exquisite as regards 
form and of truly harmonious colours, have been and are- 
now produced. 

What has been said about paper naturally applies to 
coloured calicoes ; with this difference, that the peculiar 
effect produced by the stamping machine is much en- 
hanced on the pile of woven fabrics. The use of printed 
materials, both linens, calicoes, and Indian tissues, has 
become universal ; and whether they are made in India, 
in England, or in France, they are generally distinguished 
by good patterns produced by a few simple colours. 


XVIII.—-Tarestry Hancincs, FURNITURE COVERS, 
RucGs, AND WORSTED. 


TAPESTRY Is manufactured on the loom and upon the 
warp, which consists of wool, thread, cotton, and even 
silk threads, and the weft is worked with short lengths of 
as many colours and shades as are required by the work- 
men to copy the picture before him. The loom is formed | 
of two cylinders, round one of which is rolled the warp, 
and round the other the web. These “ uprights,” as they 
are called, are placed vertically in “high warp,” and are 
parallel to the ground in “ low warp.” 

In high warp velvet pile, the worsted threads compos- 


PRACTICE, 283 


ing the web, which are to form the surface of the carpet, 
are linked by a double knot on two threads of the warp, 
forming on the face a ring, the size of which is accord- 
ing to the height of the pile. When this operation has 
been achieved the shearing of the carpet takes place, re- 
quiring much precision and nicety, as upon it depends the 
beauty of the carpet. 

But whatever the skill of the art-worker—and it is 
sometimes very great—he cannot like the painter judge 
of the effect of his work, nor alter it as he proceeds ; 
neither are the resources of the latter, such as glaze and 
impasto, at his command. He has to deal with a dry 
material, the dyes of which were obtained by different 
processes from those of the colours and shades of the 
copying-picture, consequently they do not always corre- 
spond with them. With him transparency and harmoni- 
ous blending of colours can only be produced by minute 
touches and elaborate hatchings, z.e. by several years of 
patient and intelligent labour. And if this is true of 
tapestries for which cartoons were expressly made, where- 
in the resources as well as the limitations of the loom 
were considered, it is far more so of many historical, 
allegorical, and biblical subjects, after the drawings of 
great painters, with figures, animals, hunting scenes, 
flowers, fruit, and glades of great finish, fine modelling, 
~ and an endless variety of colours and shades: not unfre- 
quently displaying a genuine feeling for nature and repro- 
ducing it with great felicity, making one regret all the 
more that talent of a high order and good manipulation 
should have been so entirely misapplied, Fig. 249 


284 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


The most beautiful existing tapestries are- those which 
were made at Arras for Leo X. from the famous “ car- 
toons” of Raphael. Their number was originally ten, 


“My 1 
LANG ass 
PES 


x 
4 


7 i 
¥ 


# +7 
K é. 
rm mag? ps Pies SCs 
oe 1, c TAP 
EP EMM 
aX ee GA Tet et 2 


i} 


4 
= 





fig. 249.—Realistic Tapestry. 


seven of which were found by Rubens in the workshop, 
where they had been forgotten after the execution of the 
tapestries. The painter advised the king to buy them, 


PRACTICE. ) 285 


and Charles I. commissioned the manufactory at Mort- 
lake, which had been established by James L., to copy 
them. These were bought by Cardinal Mazarin at the 
king’s sale after his death, and are now in the “ Garde 
Meuble” at Paris. Those made at Arras for the Sistine 
Chapel, after many vicissitudes in which they were much 
damaged, were secured for the Vatican. The cartoons, 
by a long way the most valuable, belong to the Crown, 
and have been for some years in the South Kensington 
Museum. 

The use of tapestry is very ancient; the Egyptians 
produced ‘“ painted tapestry’ thousands of years before 
the Christian era ; but whether “ painted ”’ or “figured ” 
cannot now be ascertained. In Babylon, the palace of 
the Sassanid kings was adorned with tapestry woven of 
gold and silver, recalling Greek fables. Homer speaks 
of hangings and represents Helen working tapestry 
(embroidery?) when she is visited by Venus during the 
siege of Troy. . We read of Roman emperors giving 
enormous sums ofmoney for specimens of tapestry. Again, 
Terence represents ladies executing marvellous produc- 
tions in the loom amidst their dependants and slaves, 
beautifully illustrated in one of Rossetti’s early pictures. 

Tapestry was established in Europe at an early period, 
when it was also the occupation of high-born ladies, but 
it is probable that their work was of the kind known as 
‘embroidery,’ produced by worsted or silk threads on 
stuffs, rather than tapestries made in the loom. 

That tapestry hangings and furniture covers originated 
with embroidered or worsted work seems pretty certain. 


286 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


Its best mode of treatment is by simple patterns formed 
out of geometrical forms, such as the square, the circle, 
lozenge, and the like. Any attempt at reproducing 
realistic flowers and modelled figures must necessarily be 
fruitless and end in total discomfiture. Perhaps the 
most suitable patterns for this kind of work are to be found 
in Germany, notably those by Siebenbacher, Fig. 251. 

Figure tapestry hangings, like other materials, lose 
their freshness and harmony by exposure, and, as the 
change in the flesh-tints and draperies is not uniform, 
they present after some years a sorry and pitiable appear- 
ance. This is not the case with “ verdure” pieces, where 
time instead of detracting seems but to add to their beauty 
by mellowing and blending the colours, which originally 
may have been a little too bright. | 

For some years past better ideas upon the limits im- 
posed upon the weaver by the material employed are appa- 
rent in the productions of the Gobelins and Beauvais 
manufactures, now both under the same. direction. They 
have ceased to copy the storied compositions, either of 
“old” or contemporary painters, preferring to obtain from 
trained ornamentists simple compositions created for the 
loom, thereby saving much labour and expense, whilst 
securing a more satisfactory result. The effect they wish 
to produce does not depend on high finish and multi- 
plicity of shades and colours, but rather on a limited 
number of intrinsic quality skilfully arranged, with which 
they form decorative designs, based upon the knowledge 
acquired by careful training and study of the best models, 
especially those of oriental origin. : 


PRACTICE. 287 





A A a a Ae A A AIA aA A] 


Wi 


~ 
Wy 1D) 


WWE 


SHES 








a K Si 2) a is a7 


i 2c rh, ee HI \) S wn ID Mis Ale ac 
Pa) aS Maen A. 
Wn ju Y 


alate [Seas 





fig. 250.—Oriental Carpet. 


288 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


Carpets, which are destined to lie under our feet, por- 
tions of which will be hidden by furniture, should not 
consist of clustering flowers tied with “ribbon knots,” nor 
of ornament of great finish thrown up in relief from a 
plain ground, as is frequently the case in the productions 
of the Savonnerie and Aubusson workshops, where the 
forms are so realistic that they seem to rise and impede 
our progress. The designs should be simple, the ground 
well covered, albeit without confusion, the colours neither 





Fig. 251.—German Needlework. 


too many nor too glaring, and the pattern seen equally 
well in any direction. This principle, never absent from 
Onental carpets, is well exemplified in our Fig. 250. 

A large proportion of Beauvais furniture covers of the 
eighteenth century, ornamented with fruit and flowers, 
vividly coloured and of excessive finish, are open to the 
same objection as the Savonnerie and Aubusson pro- 
ducts ; in a still greater degree, so are the rustic scenes, 
the classic landscapes, and architecture of the first half 
of this century. The sound principle which would make 


PRACTICE: 289 


us discard tinted panel-work papers is equally applicable 
to tapestry hangings ; where search after perspective and 
atmospheric effect is equally incongruous. And here we 
may note that a large proportion of the most remarkable 
tapestries that have been produced in Europe have 
their horizon placed low; hence the rule laid down by 
Mr. Charles Blanc, that horizons should always be very 
high, is not binding on the artist. ‘That manufactories 
existed in England prior to the sixteenth century is made 
manifest by the frequent allusions met with in old records. 
Of the remarkable specimens still extant may be cited 
two large pieces, one representing the marriage of Henry 
VI., and the other that of Henry VII. The production 
of English tapestry in the present day consists chiefly of 
printed carpets of every description intended for domestic 
use, in which ornamentation of a high order is frequently 
adapted with admirable taste. 

Oriental carpets may be divided into three classes. 
The Turkish, (including Algerian), Persian and Indian. 
Turkish carpets are very simple ; composed of a central 
pattern, and large masses similar to the centre in the 
four corners, and sometimes at the sides. Red or green 
are the general ground colours, with blue, yellow, and 
black interspersed with stars or dots ; nevertheless out of 
such simple elements they never fail to produce rich and 
harmonious colouring. In Persian carpets the design, 
always conventional, covers more space; but although 
floral and animal forms are introduced and a more vivid 
system of colouring is discernible, all the colours blend 
together in a marvellous way. Sometimes the ground is 


290 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


red, sometimes deep blue, covered with tulips and pinks 
in shades of green, pink, yellow and blue. The deep 
border is formed with a tracery of leaves and various 
coloured flowers, amongst which are birds of.gorgeous 
plumage. The mysterious “tree of life” forms generally 
the centre of Persian and Indian carpets, as well as of 
early Italian fabrics due to Persian influence. Indian car- 
pets are too well known to need description ; those made 
at Masulipatam used to be the finest produced in India 
and almost anywhere. But European influence and 
European demand, which insist on cheap articles, have 
effected changes that are much to be deplored. 


XIX.—TEXTILES, CASHMERE SHAWLS, ENGLISH AND 
FRENCH SHAWLS, EMBROIDERY, AND LACE TRIM- 
MINGS. 


TEXTILES present so great a variety of fabrication, that 
to attempt a description of them all, however slight, is 
beyond our scope. We will therefore confine ourselves 
to a few most generally in use, omitting details of exe- 
cution, as of necessity too brief in this place to be of 
real service. The word “textile”? means every kind of 
work wrought in the loom ; and whether the threads are 
spun from the produce of the animal, the vegetable, or 
mineral kingdom, whether of gold, of silver, or any other 
metal, the webs forming such materials are textiles. Stuffs 
were at first “ plaited,” not ‘“‘ woven,” as may be inferred 
from the work of rude tribes at the present day ; as well 
as from the fragments which have been found in the 
tombs of primitive peoples. ‘“ Flax linens’ were known 


PRACTICE. 291 


to the nations of antiquity. In Egypt mummies wrapped 
in (fine) linen, dating back thousands of years, have been 
discovered; whilst plain and figured (striped) cotton 
and silk textures are of ancient date in countries where 
the mulberry and cotton plant are indigenous. The first 
sure indication we have of silk in Europe is to be found 
in Aristotle. From China and India the manufacture of 
silk rapidly spread to the West; and in the time of 
Augustus, silk robes were worn in Rome of so transpa- 
rent a texture that they “ shrouded,” but did not ‘ conceal” 
the figure, and brought down upon the fair wearers the 
wrathful strictures of purists. The gossamer-like tissue 
was due, not so much to a feeling of immodesty, as to the 
excessive prices that were asked for silk, sold then by 
weight, as is still the case in the present day both in the 
East and many parts of Italy. 

The enormous cost of silk led the way to “ mixed” 
textures, in which the warp was of cotton, hemp, or wool, 
woven with the more precious web. Besides these various 
materials, gold and silver cut into narrow “strips? came 
to be used in weaving, so as to add lustre and richness to 
the fabric. Sometimes the cloth was entirely of gold, but 
its fabulous price induced the weaver to work with the 
silk strips of paper made to look like gold, weaving the 
cloth so closely that the real nature of the material could 
not be detected even with a magnifying glass. 

England, from very early times, had textiles made in 
primitive looms, varying in design and material. The 
finer and more tasteful webs were wrought by women, 


who increased their beauty with stitches done with the 
14 


292 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


needle. The woollen stuffs made at Bath, Worcester, and 
Norwich, were in high demand both in this country and 
on the continent. ‘The weavers of Worsted, in Norfolk, 
produced a texture of such good quality, that it became 
known as “ worsted,” from the place of its manufacture ; 


ok we: 


Fa 


et 


4 I 





fig. 252.—Textile suitable for furniture. 


and the word has passed in the language to describe a 
distinct kind of work. 

The best woollen cloths during the Middle Ages were 
made in Flanders with English wool ; which was esteemed 
then, as it is now, for its superior quality and the excel- 
lence of its dyes. 


PRAGTICE, 293 


Goods worked in the loom may be divided into “plain” 
and ‘ figured,” both “ flat’ and “ brocaded,” also called 
“damask ” because the forms look as if they had been 
engraved as on metal. Textiles, whether plain or in- 
wrought with designs, are now produced by machinery. 
The “ power-loom,” invented by Dr. Cartwright exactly 
a hundred years ago, is used for plain weaving, and it is 
hardly necessary to add, is far more expeditious than the 
old loom ; but when figures, flowers and other devices 
are desired, the ‘‘ Jacquard apparatus ” is fitted on to the 
power-loom and produces all kinds of fabrics, including 
carpets and lace curtains. 

But wonderful though these appliances may be, and 
improvements are made every day, they cannot as yet 
produce the highest class of textiles, such as brocades, 
fine velvets and the like ; for these the old looms worked 
with the feet acting on the treadles must be resorted to. 
Nor can our fabrics compare with Indian products either 
in design, richness of colouring, or manipulation. The 
most gorgeous Cashmere shawls are made by the natives 
in looms so small and primitive, that they have to be 
woven in separate segments. The centre piece is first 
set out, and the other pieces are ranged round it, so as to 
form the pattern, which may be extended according to the 


? 


fancy of the worker. The “fine joining ” is gone over 
with embroidery in various subdued and dark shades 
producing the design; which has more the effect of an 
elaborate and fine nielling, than work made in the loom 
and with the needle. 


Nor is this all; the slight unevenness of Indian tissues 


294 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


produces a play of light and shadow, which at a short 
distance lends the appearance of low relief to the fabric. 
In justice to European as against Indian ornament, it 
should be stated, that if it cannot approach the latter in 
brilliancy of colouring and exquisite beauty of detail, its 
designs, notably of late years, are never confused, and 
show much skill in their arrangement deserving of the 
highest praise. 

But the same forms or designs should not be impar- 
tially applied to silk, cotton, or woollen textures, nor 
should they be on too large a scale and such as will 
suffer by draping; whilst the scale in stuffs meant for 
furniture should be increased and marked by boldness of 
design, Fig. 252. 

Numerous allusions are made in old inventories of 
“ plain” silks and velvets ; of velvets ‘raised ” with cord, 
with spangles or embroidered (‘“ passing’) with gold and 
coloured silk threads, which lent the tissue the appear- 
ance of having been wrought not by the needle but in 
the loom. The beauty of these silken textiles was fre- 
quently increased by human and animal forms, the flesh 
tints being worked in pink silk of various shades. Precious 
stuffs which required years of skilful labour in their manu- 
facture could only be procured by kings and prelates, 
who wore them on state occasions or church ceremonies | 
in the early part of our era and throughout the Middle 
Ages. But from the seventeenth century the figures on 
sacerdotal vestments, such as dalmatics, orphraies, ban- 
ners, and the like, were frequently “‘ painted ” on the stuff 
instead of being “worked” with the needle. In the 


PRACTICE. 295 


Catholic church these figures were often, and still are, cut 
out of tinted cardboard and inserted in the vestment. To 
expatiate on the absurdity and the bad taste of similar 
ornamentation would be sheer loss of time. 

The diversity of stitches seen in embroidered work is 
very great, besides “ passing;” already mentioned, cross, 
chain, rose, Russian, whalebone, Maltese, knotted, lace 





fig. 253.—LEmobroidery. 


stitch and many more are employed to add variety to 
the design, Fig. 253. 

Cut-work is made in different ways and may be applied 
to a piece of cloth, silk, velvet or linen. When the 
application is made on a light fabric, such as muslin, the 
outline is sometimes traced with whipping-cord, sewn on 
to the stuff; the inner details being worked in with 


296 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION, 


button-hole, chain, satin stitch, and the like, Fig. 254. 
Embroidery is always worked with the aid of a needle, 
cant-hook, or “ stiletto.” 

The designer should take into account not only the 
general disposition of the forms, but also the degree of 
transparency and opacity he wishes to produce. The juxta- 
position of plain and figured bands is to be recommended 
for blinds and window curtains; the effect of which is 
reversed as they are viewed from the outer or inner side. 


 aatg an ETH aA ENT OTT 





fig. 254.—Cut-work, or Applique. 


This pleasing combination is seen in old bed hangings and 
window curtains of the fifteenth century, which generally 
consist of stripes of velvet or coloured satin, alternately 
with cut-work in crewels. Network upon linen was done 
on a square ground, and the patterns produced with the 
needle, or formed of pieces of linen “ cut out ” and 
“sewn on,” or applied to the net. This kind of work 
was often executed in coloured threads, red, blue and 
black ; or darned with gold and silver, after the manner 


PRACTICE. 297 


of Eastern, Russian, and German work of the present 
day, Fig. 257. 

Lace is made of silk, cotton, flax, gold, silver and even 
the fibre of aloes. It consists of the ground or network 
and the design or flowers, which are connected by double 
threads overcast with button-hole stitch, and fringed with 
loops and knots. The pattern is made separately or with 
the ground. It is made in one piece in Mechlin, Val- 
enciennes, and Buckingham lace, whilst it is worked into 
or sewn on to the ground in Brussels and Honiton. In 


Po 


TERT RTT TT 
Pope SRT ors 


A] 
es 
° 


eo 
y) 


Kt 


TY) 


Ly 

HH 
TX 

4% 


ATRL ALA 


Py 
: 





Fig. 255.—Durned Lace. 


some kinds of lace a little raised cord surrounds the 
pattern. The open work or fancy stitches are called 
“ fillings.” ; 

The most precious lace is entirely worked with the 
needle and is called “ point ;” whilst “ pillow” is executed 
by weaving, twisting, 
a pillow or cushion. The best known point laces are 


and plaiting of the threads upon 


those of Italy, especially Venice; Spanish laces and 
the comparatively modern “ point d’Alengon.”” Needle- 
lace came into general use in the sixteenth century, when 
the points and cut-works of Italy and Flanders were 


r 
/ 
. 


DECORATIVE 


298 


COMPOSITION 


worn by ladies and gentlemen as ruffs, cuffs, collars, 


All the lace of this period consists 


handkerchiefs, etc. 





Honiton Lace. 


56.— 


ig. 2 


Fi: 


in squares variously combined, 


designs 


geometric 


of 


Fig. 255. 


It is not until the seventeenth century that these forms 


- 


are replaced by patterns characteristic of the period, such 
To the Netherlands belongs 


as scrolls and flowing lines. 


PRACTICE. . 299 


the invention of pillow lace, which was and still is one 
of the chief industries of the country. 

Brussels lace is of two kinds: needle-point and pillow. 
Needle-point is made in small pieces and united by 
invisible stitches, called “fine joining.” It is stronger 
than the pillow, but much more expensive, and only 
made for princes and “ millionaires.” 

Brussels lace is known in France as “ English point,”’ 


eee Saag vil P>PPEWIT TPES Neu SND EESS SEED DPV SE EEE YP ID™ 


ieee COTA AE EO 
" 5) << omy is 


bi. = 
4 b 





‘ 
% 
X 


fig. 257.—Cut-work. 


respecting which a word of explanation may be given. 
At the Restoration of the Stuarts, the use of lace became 
so universal, and the sums of money that were sent out 
of the country so enormous, that its importation was 
prohibited by an Act of Parliament. But means were 
found to smuggle Brussels lace over to England, where it 
was sold as “ English point.” 

Mechlin lace, which is made on the pillow, has always 
been in great demand in England, owing to its lightness 
and pleasing effect. 


300 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


The great centres of lace-making in this country are 
Buckinghamshire, the adjoining counties, and Devon- 





oS 


OE ee ES 


PB 


en a 


fig. 258.—Braidery. 


-shire. The first-named are distinguished for the clear- 
ness and beauty of their grounds, but imitation lace has 


PRACTICE. 301 


caused the demand for reai lace to decline, and the lace- 
makers, with few exceptions, now only produce Cluny 
and Maltese. Honiton lace resembles Brussels in make. 
Great care is bestowed both on the ground and upon its 
‘‘ sprigs,’ which are worked separately and afterwards 
sewn on to the ground, Fig. 256. 

Art lace is now made in Nottingham by “ pusher- 
machines’ which form the net with the pattern, after- 
wards completed by hand with the “gimp” or thicker 
thread. By this combined process, shawls, scarfs, flounces, 
curtains, and lace of great beauty are produced. 

The art of lace-making was introduced in Ireland in 
the middle of the last century, where it has been carried 
on in various localities with great success ever since. 
“Trish point,” “‘ appliqué,” Limerick lace, Irish “ tatting,”’ 
“crochet,” etc., may be seen in many windows of the 
metropolis, as well as knitting both plain and orna- 
mental. 

“Trimmings ’’ of gold and silver lace, once so impor- 
tant a branch of industry, are now almost exclusively 
confined to military and naval uniforms, whilst the endless 
variety of silk, woollen and cotton lace, of fringe, tassels, 
and the like, are scarcely seen except on furniture, Fig. 258. 


XX.—DEcORATIVE PAINTING, MONOCHROMES, CuUR- 
TAINS, BLINDS, AND ILLUMINATED AND ORNa~- 
MENTAL WRITING. 


WE have purposely kept decorative painting and its deri- 
vatives to the last, because circumstantially to treat of 


302 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


the materials used tn their elaboration on the one hand, 
or those to which they are generally apphed, would be out 
of place in an elementary work of this kind. 

It is well known that plaster, wood, metal, textiles, 
stone, and brick, é.e. walls and ceilings, may be covered 
with painting, and that oils, tempera, fresco, etc., are the 
means adopted for the purpose. But the principles which 
govern the production of all ornament, without which no 
success worthy of the name is to be expected, these are 
cardinal points too often lost sight of by the artist. The 
material, destination, and nature of the object to be 
decorated, should hold the first rank in his estimation. 
A little reflection will show that the same method cannot 
with propriety be applied to wood, canvas, metal, paper, 
or walls; that the architectonic features of a building 
must be very apparent, since to conceal or disguise 
them with ornament is to fail in the purpose for which 
ornament was created ; and finally that when colours are 
introduced they should be so graduated as to blend and 
form an artistic whole. , 

In order to achieve this a thoughtful study of the natural 
growth of plants, the graceful twining of twigs and 
branches of trees, the interlacing of grasses, the wealth 
and harmony of their colouring, will suggest ever fresh 
beauties, and be of the utmost value to the artist. Then, 
too, he must remember that a work intended for the open 
air is essentially decorative, so that its general effect 
should be thought of even before its higher significance. 
Nor is this all: his training should have prepared him to 
understand the resources as well as the limitations of his 








kG : 





Fig. 259.—Renaissance Ceilin. 


304 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


art. This he will best learn by constant reference to the 
beautiful works of men, who were thorough masters of 
their art, and whose compositions are distinguished 
by sobriety of colour (sometimes only monochromes) in 
the larger masses, while the small masses are heightened 
with primary and secondary tints, according as they formed 
the equivalent of the dominant colour. 

In Egypt we find examples of decorative colouring 
nearly three thousand years old, and as fresh and vivid as 
if painted yesterday. The excavations at Pompei, have 
revealed the fact that the Greeks of that period, if not 
earlier, used colours to decorate their houses and _ public 
buildings, “the walls of which are still glowing with mar- 
vellous combinations of colours and the utmost elegance, 
fancy, and beauty of design,’ portraying conditions of life 
that have for ever passed away. In them excessive 
modelling, straining after perspective and atmospheric 
effects—incongruous on the walls of an apartment—are 
nowhere visible, and the result is in every way satisfactory. 
The restrictions imposed by Byzantine artists, at the 
beginning of our era, upon art-production, which continued 
to be felt throughout the Middle Ages, banished the 
grace, the freedom, the comprehensiveness and audacity, 
which had characterised Grecian art; on the other hand 
this was compensated in part by a quaint simplicity and 
earnestness of purpose, a strength of sombre colouring 
that are not without a charm of their own. 

This Byzantine influence is still apparent in the pro- 
ductions of the Renaissance, in the early works of Raphael, 
and even in his famous “frescoes ”’ adorning the corridors 


PRACTICE. 305 


and chambers of the Vatican. Of the impropriety of 
placing figures in such a position we have spoken else- 
where. Raphael was a king among painters, but he was 
not an ornamentist. The same reservation applies to his 


contemporaries and successors, both of the Roman, Um- 





fig, 260.—french Ceiling. 


brian, Florentine, and Venetian schools, including Tiepolo, 
whose architectural compositions on domes and vaulted 
ceilings sin against common sense, Fig. 259. It is owing 
to the same misguided judgment that many beautiful com- 
positions due to Flemish and French art lose so much of 


306 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


their interest, Fig. 260, whilst the architectural decora- 
tions seen in the vertical panelling of the Graeco-Roman 
period, if less absurd, testify nevertheless to the degrada- 
tion which had descended on the art of the Lower 
Empire, Fig. 262. 

Of the exquisite beauty of illuminated Eastern MSS.,and 
in almost an equal degree those relating to medizval 
times, we spoke in another place. There still remains to 
notice ornamental writing and inscriptions closely allied 
to them and the forerunners of illuminated designs, met 

with, more or less, in every period of art, 

sometimes as a decorative element, but 

: not unfrequently as simple statement of 

D facts. In this class must be placed the 

‘merchants’ marks,’ introduced into 

Fig. 261. medizeval work by those who, not being 

Mark. of noble birth, were forbidden to bear 

arms. But under the hands of. artists, simple letters 

became beautiful as well as decorative. Vide Fig. 261, a 
fac-simile of Albert Diirer’s initials affixed to his work. 

Figs. 263 and 264 are monograms sketched from char- 
ters in the British Museum ; one drawn up in the reign 
of Edgar, A.D. 961, the other in the reign of Canute, A.D. 
1031. , 

A cipher differs from a monogram in that the letters 
are repeated and reversed, so as to form a bi-symmetrical 
or multi-symmetrical composition. Fig. 265 is an illus- 
tration of this. 

The three intersecting C’s in Fig. 266 form a good 
example of a multi-symmetrical cipher: it is taken from a 





eu 


LEVEES 

















Roman Panelling. 


co- 


—Gre 


Fig. 262 


308 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. 


biberon of Oiron fazence, or, as it 1s often termed, Henri 
Deux ware. A certain amount of doubt exists as to the 
meaning of the form, but it is generally concluded that 


figs. 263, 264.—Monograms. 


it is the initial letter of the queen, Catherine de Medici ; 
an undercurrent of meaning connecting the crescent form 


a 
\\ \ 
\ 


\ 





Fig. 265.—Cipher. 


with the Duchesse de Valentinois, better known as Diana 
of Poitiers. Fifty-five specimens only of the ware are 
known to exist, and almost all have this cipher upon 


PRACTICE. 309 


them ; of these, twenty-five pieces are in English collec- 
tions, twenty-nine in France, and the remaining one in 
Russia. 

That at first all writings were in capital letters is placed 
beyond doubt by the archaic inscriptions found all over 
the world, including our own country, both on terra-cotta, 
coins, and buildings. Similar writing was soon found too 
laborious and cumbrous for the ordinary purposes of daily 
life, and induced a current writing or “running hand.” 
The resemblance of our letters to the capital characters 
of which they are a modification can still be traced, but 


picturesque of all for ornamental ™~ 
schemes, as will be seen in Fig. 266, \ 
where arabesques and _ interlacings A 


are deftly interwoven with the letters. 


nowhere is this so apparent as in 
medizval or Gothic writing, the most 








: Fig. 266.—Cztpher. 
If our capital characters cannot < Led aes 


boast the graceful undulating forms of Arabic, nor yet of 
the picturesqueness of Gothic letters, they have the merit 
of being easily read, and, owing to the straightness and 
clearness of their lines, are very suitable for cutting hard 
stone, marble and even granite. 

Inscriptions enter largely into Egyptian, Assyrian, Per- 
sian, Arabic, Greek, and Roman ornament in their build- 
ings, pottery, sarcophagi, MSS., and textile fabrics. 
Indeed, it would be more correct to say that they have 
been adopted by all nations of the civilised world, nor is 
it necessary to travel beyond our own country to have the 
statement abundantly proved. 


310 DECORATIVE COMPOSITION. — 


In conclusion we would remind the student that if he 
lays to heart, and inwardly digests, the vital principles 
advocated in this volume, success, real and lasting, will 
crown his honest endeavours, 





Fig. -207. 
Arabesques and Interlacings interwoven with Letters, 


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